I was trying to imagine what the world would look like without Western medicine. Gone would be primary care physicians, surgeons, psychiatry—all the various medical specialties. There would be no treatment for trauma, nor fractures. Sufferers from the common cold would need to recover without their physician’s help. There would be...

No scholarly effort is ever conducted without heavy indebtedness to others. This is particularly true of efforts that rest as heavily as this one does upon data collection efforts carried out by others. Our largest debt is, of course, to M. Watt Espy. Without his continuing effort, this study would have been impossible. We are profoundly...

In examining the preface of our first book, it is increases needed. The Deming philosophy empha­ apparent that the editorial comments made in sizes that quality is never fully achieved: process 1994 are even more pertinent in today's cost- improvement is never ending. constrained healthcare environment than when But, what is quality?...