To centralize or compete is not the issue at hand.
AR's November 1990 issue featured "Stripping the Myths of Merger-mania," by Frederick Thayer, Professor Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. The article is a provocative effort toward educating healthcare professionals, whose academic backgrounds have been rooted mainly to clinical and technological concerns, regarding the fundamental causes that have led to the current economic environment inside which we struggle to plot strategies to provide patient services on a more equitable basis for the majority of people. In this year's January issue, Herbert Bernstein, Professor of Economics at Drexel University's College of Business and Administration in Philadelphia responded to Thayer's experienced pondering of the why's, how's, and cumulative effect of corporate activity (mergers) on the ongoing well-being of the physical entity resulting from such stripping and learning. The March 1991 issue of AR gave vent to Thayer's subsequent rebuttal. Here, again, are thoughts from Bernstein and Thayer, offered with the intention of exposing AR readers to a perspective of the world a bit removed from acquisition or application of technology, but directly connected to the larger issues that "world leaders" and national policy makers are struggling to cope with. Underlying the thoughts of both Bernstein and Thayer is a desire to do their part to stimulate front line healthcare workers, physicians, and executive-level management to understand the forces at play in the ever-changing face of our economic structure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Bernstein
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H
College of Business and Administration, Drexel University, Philadelphia.
Thayer
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F
D004465:Economic Competition; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006273:Health Facility Merger / Q000191:economics*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000191:economics; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics; D007449:Investments / Q000191:economics; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States