Malpractice in the new millennium: better than today? Managed care, telemedicine, genetic tests create new...

The practice of medicine is at a crossroads. Many physicians speak of early retirement and of discouraging their children from pursuing a medical career. Physicians-in-training, heeding warnings about a surplus of specialists, are entering primary care residencies in record numbers. Proposals in 1993 and 1994 to transform the nation's health care system fizzled or, as some charge, were euthanized by insurance interests and by politicians worried about a potential loss of campaign contributions. Managed care has emerged as the "new paradigm," enticing physicians and hospitals into fragile, ambivalent relationships. Despite their unrivaled position atop the national pedestal of admiration, many physicians still worry that every patient is a potential litigant. Americans love their doctors and believe that no country has a better health care system. Nevertheless, medical scientists have been productive, and report that a number of extraordinary diagnostic and treatment breakthroughs are within reach. But the excitement about their discoveries is tempered by mounting fears over the long-range legal and ethical consequences of medical research.