The role of voluntary and governmental groups of physicians.

Abstract

IN THIS presentation I shall assume that social and scientific progress have so altered nature of medical science as to mandate changes in way medical care is delivered. It is my belief that a wider application of group practice would ease but not eliminate what Surgeon General Stewart1-3has called the present crisis of unfulfilled health needs in United States. I am also assuming without further elaboration that health and society are interrelated and interdependent4-6and that both social and medical factors influence individual and collective health. Therefore, changes in medical care delivery may not, in themselves, necessarily improve national health. I propose to discuss group practice, to indicate its potential advantages for patient, physician and society, and to describe three medical groups operated by Montefiore Hospital, commenting briefly upon their similarities and differences and upon their possible role in house staff