title: Behind closed doors: accountability and responsibility in patient care.
abstract: In this paper, I examine the notion of accountability and its historical evolution in health care. Using medical mistakes and adverse patient outcomes as my focus, I examine the interests served by particular models of accountability and argue for a model of collective fiduciary responsibility in U.S. health care today.
authors.affiliation: The Hastings Center, New York, New York 10524-5555, USA.
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Sharpe
mesh_terms: D000574:American Medical Association / Q000266:history; D003363:Cost Control / Q000266:history; D030881:Disclosure; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D028681:Moral Obligations; D005791:Patient Care / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history* / Q000592:standards; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000266:history; D012922:Social Change; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014481:United States