| Popis: |
The conditions of assumptions about medical work are now being questioned, reexamined, and transformed, but without the benefit of empirical studies. The new conditions are changes in the organization of practice; the new assumptions hold that organization determines physician behavior and the quality of care that once was promised by properly educated physicians alone. Large numbers of medical practitioners—now approaching 60 percent—have moved into group practices of various forms, as corporate group organization becomes the major mode of medical work. Technology is a second powerful influence on modern medical work. The care of the individual has become a more divided task and, under the best of circumstances, a collective collaboration, as has the doctor-patient relationship as well. The doctor's job can be viewed as a large and varied number of decisions that are discretionary, based on the physician's individual judgment. |
