Wounded Profession
Subtitle: American Medicine Enters the Age of Managed Care
Publisher: Praeger Publishers; Praeger
Published: October 30, 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 168
ISBN-13: 9780275973896
Subjects: Health systems & services; Public health & preventive medicine; 21st century; c 1990 to c 2000; Health & Fitness; Medical / Nursing; Health/Fitness; USA; Administration; Health Care Delivery; Health Policy; Medical / Administration; Health Care Issues; Health maintenance organizatio; Health maintenance organizations; Managed care plans (Medical ca; Managed care plans (Medical care); United States
First sentence: The clash between managed care and the medical profession needs to be seen not only in the context of the story of the profession of medicine in the United States, but also in the context of efforts to reform health care and the changes that followed its failure.
Description: "This new study explores how American health care evolved in the 1990s, as well as the changes in public support and policy. The '9Os saw the country moving toward a realization that health care had become unaffordable - or an enormous financial burden for people with otherwise adequate incomes. Health care providers and consumers alike worried than the problem was becoming uncontrollable. Doctors saw their autonomy and control eroded, employers saw their costs rising significantly, the costs began shifting to employees, and alternative approaches to cost containment were explored."

"By the mid-'9Os, consumer backlash and increased utilization of the courts to force change helped stimulate a reexamination of public health policy and new legislation to broaden coverage and flexibility. Birenbaum examines where the interests of consumers and professionals have dovetailed and where they differ. He considers the health care system's future and suggested ways the system must be adjusted to provide better and wider coverage at reasonable costs. This volume is essential reading for scholars, students, and professionals in the medical field, as well as general readers concerned with health care issues."--Jacket.