Medicine's Dilemmas
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Infinite Needs versus Finite Resources
William Kissick
Dr. Kissick was an active participant in the drafting of Medicare legislation in the 1960s and for the past twenty-five years has held joint positions in a medical school and a business school where he has specialized in health care management. Drawing on his long experience in the field, he discusses the dimensions of the current crisis, the financial and medical implications of alternative proposals--including the program put forth by the Clinton administration--and the requirements for long-term strategies. He argues that although there are no ideal solutions to health care reform, there are many significant programs at the regional, state, and local level that can serve as prototypes for the restructuring of the organization, financing, and delivery of health services. Dr. Kissick discusses some of these alternatives and suggests that after the federal government legislates a health care policy, it should be implemented through collaboration with state and local initiatives, for such programs have been built on an understanding of regional needs, expectations, and cultural diversity.
"A comprehensive yet pragmatic perspective on health care."—David L. Boren, Senator
"Medical education must respond to the clarion calls in Medicine's Dilemmas."—Harold J. Fallon, Jr., M.D., Dean, School of Medicine, University of Alabama
"William L. Kissick sets out with the greatest clarity some of the most important issues facing healthcare in the 1990s."—Ron Zimmern, Health Service Journal
"An insightful, cogently written, and worthwhile book."—Martin A. Strosberg, Inquiry
Publication Date: September 10, 1994