title: Of chaos, Merlin and the future of medicine.
abstract: Chaos theory is a good way to describe what has taken place in the recent history of health care. A prevailing dynamic in nature is for seemingly small variations in an initial set of circumstances to cause very large variations in behavior. In health care, an innocuous policy made at some point in the system may have drastic effects on other parts. Merlin was the fabled wizard of King Arthur's court who was born in the future and lived backward through time, enabling him to foretell events. Similarly, medical practice administrators should envision the future they want for themselves and make the changes now that will result in that future. A methodology for accomplishing that is presented.
authors.affiliation: Florida Neck & Back Institute, Gainesville 32605, USA.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Noll
mesh_terms: D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends*; D006291:Health Policy / Q000639:trends*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010934:Planning Techniques; D014481:United States