ABSTRACT
The contemporary physician who goes to a cocktail party is often showered with criticism: physicians are difficult to see, do not give their patients enough time, are opposed to Medicare, make too much money, and do not provide care in the ghetto. Economic conditions in America for doctors at the beginning of the twentieth century were probably little better than in England. The United States in some respects has been more poorly prepared than other industrialized countries for changes in a complicated institution such as medical care. The importance of self-regulation in the hospital arises from the fact that it is the site of the most important and critical episode of patient care—where the opportunities for good and the consequences of errors are great.
