"The Social Transformation of American Medicine"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the Paul Starr book "The Social Transformation of American Medicine". Since its publication in 1982, the book has been widely recognized as the authoritative history of the establishment of professional medical power, its effect on the health care organization and the influence of the medical profession in the political arena. This paper focuses on the fourth chapter of the book, entitled "The Reconstitution of the Hospital", reiterating that historical process from the operating theatres of the Civil War through the HMOs of the 1980s. The paper concludes that although the book is now almost twenty years old, it continues to be the most important resource on its subject.

From the Paper:

"Chapter four of the first section of the book discusses "The Reconstitution of the Hospital." Prior to the introduction of anesthesia and antisepsis around 1870, medical care could be administered better at home than in the hospital. Physicians made home visits to the wealthy, who were nursed by family or hired help, and early hospitals were private nonprofit institutions for the care of the poor, transients, and affluent people who had no family support. The hospitals were supported by donations."

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