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J. Alexander McMahon

JAMA. 1986;256(7):908-909.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The Medicare prospective pricing system's dramatic entry into the health care scene 31/2 years ago has led many people to view it as the watershed event in health care delivery of this decade. Granted, the new system has wrought major changes and the attention it is getting is not altogether undeserved. However, the diagnosis related groups (DRG) system is only number 3 on my list of change agents. As prospective pricing went into effect, there were other more important changes already occurring in the health care environment.

The increase in the number of physicians in the United States, in my opinion, has had the most far-reaching impact on the health care world. Over the course of the past 15 years, the number of practicing physicians increased by 60%. For the first time, physicians began competing for patients, working as salaried employees, and going into some of the new alternative delivery . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Past President American Hospital Association Chicago Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC

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