Given the chorus of approval for primary care emanating from every party to the health reform debate, one might suppose that the future for primary physicians is bright. Yet this is far from certain. And when one looks to history and recognizes that primary care medicine has failed virtually every conceivable market test in recent years, its…

Benefits of hospital-based internship and residency programs for training psychologists are discussed, along with issues concerning licensing or certification. In hospitals, interns and residents are exposed to unusual and diverse forms of physical and mental pathology, as well as contact with a diverse patient population crossing all ages, racial…

Predicated on the knowledge that effective communication among medical personnel and patients is fundamental to the achievement of successful health care delivery, this paper addresses the practice of chaplain intervention on behalf of the patient in primary care to enhance physician-patient interaction. First the paper defines culture (in the…

Three factors that will have major effects on the medical cost quality debate are: industrial and governmental policy in regard to health-related expenditures, an aging population, and societal attitudes towards competition in the health care system. Approaches to conflict resolution are offered. (MLW)