Description
Book SynopsisProviding a fascinating overview of healthcare spending and cost-containment mechanisms in the US, this book explores the consequences of managed care for the community with particular attention paid to doctor-patient relationships. The author studies this significant relationship from a social perspective arguing that shifting financial risk onto doctors in a profit-making system seriously damages patient trust. In addition this undermines overall social capital, which in turn has been linked to health outcomes.
Including case study examples and policy implications, this insightful text explores an important, though little-discussed outcome of healthcare reform and will be a welcome addition to the current healthcare literature.
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Conflicting Values in a Troubled Health Care System 2. Bluffing, Puffing and Spinning 3. Trust: The Scarcest of Medical Resources 4. The Doctor-Patient Relationship in a Social Context 5. Conserving Medical Trust for the Sake of Social Capital 6. Law, Its Meaning, and Its Effect on Social Capital 7. Employer Leadership in the Era of Workplace Rationing Conclusion: Protecting Medical Trust, Conserving Social Capital
