Where medicine fails

About this book

This fifth edition of Where Medicine Fails, like previous editions, argues for a broader definition of society's responsibilities to the ill than is commonly perceived to be the case. It emphasizes the importance of distinguishing among political, social, and medical rehabilitation of individuals. Contributors carefully but dramatically document areas in which marketplace considerations take precedence over concern for the health of the nation. The authors also examine the moral and economic implications of medical technology, especially in regard to fetal tissue transplant, cancer survival, childbirth, and dying, and provide a thoughtful assessment of the issues and challenges facing American hospitals. Of a total of twenty-seven chapters, seventeen are new to this fifth edition. Among them are: "Planning to Die," by Jeanne Guillemin; "Moral Dilemmas," by Elizabeth Markson; "Hospital Care for Profit," by Geraldine Dallek; "A Century of Health Reform," by Eli Ginzberg; and "Health Policy for the Elderly," by Steven Wallace and Carroll Estes. The book is divided into three sections: "Economics vs. Moral Issues"; "Compound Fracture: The American Hospital"; and "Health Policy and Reform." In a new introduction, Carolyn Wiener discusses the continuing relevance of chapters that appeared in earlier editions and the contemporary significance of those that have been added. She writes that the aim of Where Medicine Fails is to encourage serious examination of the current structure of health services and of the complicated facets of proposed health care reform.