title: [Liberal medicine and the labor market in health care. What is liberal medicine?].
abstract: This article analyses the practice of what is termed "liberal medicine"--which has paralleled developments in how society is organized--and examines its historical and social determinants. The evolution of the term "liberal" over the centuries, to its present meaning of "practicing the profession as a self-employed physician," is discussed. The author continues the analysis by describing the liberal practice of medicine in the context of the terms of trade in the market for health services and professionals, which lead them to become small-businessmen in their profession. Liberal medicine develops when the unrestricted supply and demand for goods and services reaches the point where production and consumption are determined by systematic trade in a free market, without the restrictions and ties of an outdated social order. But legitimacy and controls related to the rules and regulations of the State, and of professional organizations do exist. This field of study will be examined further in future publications by the author, and by others interested in the problems of the labor force in the health sector.
authors.affiliation: Organización Panamericana de la Salud, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Nogueira
mesh_terms: D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D011056:Political Systems; D011331:Private Practice / Q000639:trends*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
vernacular_title: La medicina liberal y el mercado de trabajo en salud. Qué es la medicina liberal?