Wounded Profession: American Medicine Enters the Age of Managed Care

About the Book

This important new study explores how American health care evolved in the 1990s, as well as the changes in public support and policy. 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.

The 90s 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 that 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.

Table of Contents:

Preface
Introduction
Health Care on the National Agenda
What's Behind the Changing Doctor-Patient Relationship
Driving Down Costs and Professional Autonomy
The Reorganization of Health Care Delivery
Managed Care and the Profession's Tarnished Jewels in the Crown--Academic Health Centers
Doctors Respond to the Dark Side of Managed Care
How Managed Care Is Shaping Medical Practice
Hopes for Reform
The Future of American Medicine
Index

About the Author :
ARNOLD BIRENBAUM is Professor in the Pediatrics Department of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Associate Director of the Rose F. Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disability Education, Research, and Service.

Review :
?[a] far-ranging, thought-provoking book about recent changes in the U.S. health care system and how they have affected the medical profession.?-Inquiry ?[A]rnold Birenbaum has done an exceptional job in explaining the realities of managed care, as well as the changes that brought us to the point where we are today....Anyone involved in health care, whether it be student, professional or consumer would benefit from reading this book. It presents a balanced, informative narrative on where health care has been, where it continues to go and how all can contribute to its new forms of orgamization to produce social change.?-Research News and Opportunities in Science and theology ?All Americans should have health insurance, access should be more equal, and everyone should take some financial responsibility for their health care. What is happening with the elderly and prescription drugs is the tip of a nasty iceberg that creates stress for other age groups.?-Future Survey ?Anyone involved in health care, whether it be student, professional or consumer, would benefit from reading this book. It presents a balanced, informative narrative on where health care has been, where it continues to go and how all can contribute to its new forms of organization to produce social change.?-Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology ?Birenbaum offers an excellent book about the state of health care in the U.S. It is an accurate assessment of where the interests of the American people and the medical professionals have dovetailed and where they have differed....This book is extremely informative and easy to read. All health care providers should read this detailed account of the historical, present, and future of health care, and it should be required reading for all students of health care. Essential. General readers; upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; faculty; researchers, and professionals.?-Choice "Ýa¨ far-ranging, thought-provoking book about recent changes in the U.S. health care system and how they have affected the medical profession."-Inquiry "ÝA¨rnold Birenbaum has done an exceptional job in explaining the realities of managed care, as well as the changes that brought us to the point where we are today....Anyone involved in health care, whether it be student, professional or consumer would benefit from reading this book. It presents a balanced, informative narrative on where health care has been, where it continues to go and how all can contribute to its new forms of orgamization to produce social change."-Research News and Opportunities in Science and theology "[a] far-ranging, thought-provoking book about recent changes in the U.S. health care system and how they have affected the medical profession."-Inquiry "[A]rnold Birenbaum has done an exceptional job in explaining the realities of managed care, as well as the changes that brought us to the point where we are today....Anyone involved in health care, whether it be student, professional or consumer would benefit from reading this book. It presents a balanced, informative narrative on where health care has been, where it continues to go and how all can contribute to its new forms of orgamization to produce social change."-Research News and Opportunities in Science and theology "All Americans should have health insurance, access should be more equal, and everyone should take some financial responsibility for their health care. What is happening with the elderly and prescription drugs is the tip of a nasty iceberg that creates stress for other age groups."-Future Survey "Anyone involved in health care, whether it be student, professional or consumer, would benefit from reading this book. It presents a balanced, informative narrative on where health care has been, where it continues to go and how all can contribute to its new forms of organization to produce social change."-Research News and Opportunities in Science and Theology "Birenbaum offers an excellent book about the state of health care in the U.S. It is an accurate assessment of where the interests of the American people and the medical professionals have dovetailed and where they have differed....This book is extremely informative and easy to read. All health care providers should read this detailed account of the historical, present, and future of health care, and it should be required reading for all students of health care. Essential. General readers; upper-division undergraduates; graduate students; faculty; researchers, and professionals."-Choice