
Big Doctoring in America
Profiles in Primary Care
Fitzhugh Mullan(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 1. October 2002
Book
Hardback
275 pages
978-0-520-22670-8 (ISBN)
Description
The general practitioner was once America's doctor. The GP delivered babies, removed gallbladders, and sat by the bedsides of the dying. But as the twentieth century progressed, the pattern of medical care in the United States changed dramatically. By the 1960s, the GP was almost extinct. The later part of the twentieth century, however, saw a rebirth of the idea of the GP in the form of primary care practitioners. In this engrossing collection of oral histories and provocative essays about the past and future of generalism in health care, Fitzhugh Mullan - a pediatrician, writer, and historian - argues that primary care is a fascinating, important, and still endangered calling. In conveying the personal voices of primary care practitioners, Mullan sheds light on the political and economic contradictions that confront American medicine. Mullan interviewed dozens of primary care practitioners - family physicians, internists, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants - asking them about their lives and their work.
He explains how, during the last forty years, the primary care movement has emerged built on the principles of 'big doctoring' - coordinated, comprehensive care over time. This book is essential reading for understanding core issues of the current health care dilemma. As our country struggles with managed care, market reforms, and cost containment strategies in medicine, "Big Doctoring in America" provides an engrossing and illuminating look at those in the trenches of the profession.
He explains how, during the last forty years, the primary care movement has emerged built on the principles of 'big doctoring' - coordinated, comprehensive care over time. This book is essential reading for understanding core issues of the current health care dilemma. As our country struggles with managed care, market reforms, and cost containment strategies in medicine, "Big Doctoring in America" provides an engrossing and illuminating look at those in the trenches of the profession.
Reviews / Votes
"Mullan gets it right! His 'big doctors' are the unsung heroes of American medicine. Their stories -and they are great stories-tell us where we have to go to build a medical system that will work for everybody. And I mean everybody - the CEO, the family on welfare, you, and me."-Studs Terkel, author of Working, The Good War, and Coming of AgeMore details
Series
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
15 b-w photographs
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
590 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-22670-8 (9780520226708)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
10/2002
1st Edition
Naval Institute Press
€30.99
Available for download
Person
Fitzhugh Mullan, M.D. is Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at George Washington University and a contributing editor of the journal Health Affairs. He is the author of Plagues and Politics: The Story of the United States Public Health Service (1989), Vital Signs: A Young Physician's Struggle with Cancer (1983), and White Coat, Clenched Fist: The Political Education of an American Physician (1976).
Content
Introduction 1. Primary Care Roots 2. The New GPs: The Family Physician Comes of Age 3. Roots Rediscovered: The Internist and the Pediatrician as Generalists 4. The New Clinicians: Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants 5. The System Doctors: Managed Care and Primary Care 6. The Quixote Factor: Generalists Doing Special Battle 7. Building a Better Future: The Case for Primary Care