The Ethics of Managed CareA Pragmatic Approach Mary R. Anderlik A breakthrough reappraisal of the managed healthcare debate. Discussions of managed care frequently begin and end with an opposition between the Hippocratic ethic of dedication to patient welfare and a business ethic of self-interest in the service of efficiency. Mary R. Anderlik approaches managed care as a problem of organizations. Rejecting a simple "medicine vs. business" analysis, she directs attention to management as manipulation, the neglect of such personal goods as satisfaction in professional accomplishment, and organizational moral myopia. In this account, "pragmatic" suggests practical idealism, not the jettisoning of principle in the interests of expediency. In The Ethics of Managed Care, Anderlik favors a broad empiricism and a moral vision centered on values of democracy and community. She describes how organizations can nourish or destroy openness, creativity, cooperation, and faithfulness -- and display "virtues" such as justice, integrity, responsiveness, and efficiency, rightly understood. She uses community care clinics, asthma outreach programs, and new contexts for participatory decision-making to show the promise of managed care. She also explains the complexities of financial arrangements, arguing for an end to schemes that reward clinicians for providing less care and profiting from avoiding people who need a lot of it. The book concludes with a look at the future of managed care, proposing a program for reform. Mary R. Anderlik is Research Professor at the Health Law and Policy Institute, University of Houston Law Center. Medical Ethics SeriesDavid H. Smith and Robert M. Veatch, editors April 2001352 pages, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4cloth 0-253-33848-4 $39.95 s / £30.50

Medicare beneficiaries are rapidly moving into managed care, as attempts to restrain the growth of this costly entitlement program progress. However, advocates for patients question whether the necessary information and structures are in place to enable Medicare consumers to select wisely among private-sector managed care options. Improving the Medicare Market examines how to give Medicare beneficiaries the same choice of health plan options enjoyed in the private sectorâ€"yet protect them as consumers and patients. This book recommends approaches to ensuring accountability and informed purchasing for Medicare beneficiaries in an environment of broader choice and managed careâ€"how the government should evaluate and approve plans, what role the traditional Medicare program should play, how to help to elderly understand their options, and many other practical matters. The committee discusses the information requirements of Medicare beneficiaries and explores in detail how best to respond to their special needs. And it examines the procedures that should be developed to provide the necessary protections for the elderly in a managed care system.

Regarded as the citable treatise in the field, the 7th Edition of Legal Medicine explores and illustrates the legal implications of medical practice and the special legal issues arising from managed care. Edited by the American College of Legal Medicine Textbook Committee, it features comprehensive discussions on a myriad of legal issues that health care professionals face every day. Substantially revised and expanded and written in a plain manner, this New Edition includes 20 brand-new chapters that address the hottest topics in the field today. Will also serve as the syllabus for the Board Review Course of the American Board of Legal Medicine (ABLM). Includes need-to-know information on telemedicine and electronic mail · medical and scientific expert testimony · medical records and disclosure about patients · and liability exposure facing managed care organizations. Addresses the legal aspects of almost every medical topic that impacts health care professionals. Uses actual case studies to illustrate nuances in the law. Discusses current trends in the peer review process · physician-assisted suicide · and managed care organizations. Offers the expert guidance of top professionals across medical and legal fields in an easy to read format. Includes a glossary of medical terms. Features many brand-new chapters, including Patient Safety · Medication Errors · Disclosure of Adverse Outcome and Apologizing to Injured Patient · Liability of Pharmacists · No-Fault Liability· Legal Aspects of Bioterrorism · and Forensic Psychiatry.