Over the past fifty years, medical care has changed rapidly-and not always for the better.

Technological advances and alterations in clinical service delivery have challenged physicians to remember to keep the best interest of patients in sharp focus. The Hippocratic Oath commits physicians to "do no harm," but the realities of the contemporary business world have forced the erosion of some ethical priorities. Pressure to satisfy profit-driven business models and insurance industry guidelines have put physicians in the untenable position in which patient care becomes more of a...

Over the past fifty years, medical care has changed rapidly-and not always for the better.

Technological advances and alterations in clinical service delivery have challenged physicians to remember to keep the best interest of patients in sharp focus. The Hippocratic Oath commits physicians to "do no harm," but the realities of the contemporary business world have forced the erosion of some ethical priorities. Pressure to satisfy profit-driven business models and insurance industry guidelines have put physicians in the untenable position in which patient care becomes more of a...