title: Professional ethics and managed care in dermatology.
abstract: The way health care is financed in the United States is changing quickly. Fee-for-service arrangements in which health care providers exercised great autonomy over health care services financed by third-party payers is quickly giving way to a variety of managed care approaches. The driving force behind this change is the desire to control the growth of health care cost. In the simplest term, costs are controlled in a managed care system by controlling the provision of services. Broadly speaking, 1 of 2 methods is used to control costs. Either physician behavior or subscriber behavior is modified or limited.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Humanities, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, Wis., USA.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hammes
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Webster
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D032781:Codes of Ethics; D003880:Dermatology / Q000592:standards*; D030881:Disclosure; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D008875:Middle Aged; D028681:Moral Obligations; D040841:Resource Allocation; D014481:United States; D028761:Withholding Treatment