In the absence of definitive proof about the efficacy of medical care, Eddy and Billings suggest that doctors sidestep the complexity and uncertainty of clinical reasoning by resorting to what they call the criterion of potential benefit in prescribing treatment. Describe ever so briefly what Eddy and Billings mean by the phrase, criterion of potential benefit . As there is no absolute international standards for what constitutes scientific medicine, Payer suggests that two principal factors account for continuing differences in national styles of medical practice. One is the broader cultural biases that patients and doctors bring to encounters with one another. And, another factor is institutional.
Payer recognizes two different philosophies of medical care operating in Europe and America.
The historical emergence of hospital industries February 27, March 1 Glaser, William. 1970. A Cross-National Study of the Hospital. Though we tend to see hospital and medical care as integrated components of health care systems today, those claiming to be medical practitioners and those operating hospitals have had very little to do with one another throughout history. Only in the past 100 years have doctors routinely practiced in hospital settings. And, hospital development followed the monastic traditions of varied religions.