ABSTRACT
The medical establishment in New York City has long taken pride in its institutions and health-care systems. A survey in the first quarter of 1988 revealed that the average census in medical-surgical beds in metropolitan New York's voluntary and city hospitals was 89 percent and that six hospitals had a census in excess of 100 percent. S. Altman and his associates from the Bigel Institute for Health Policy have recently reported an intensive study of health-care in the hospitals of New York City. Epidemiologic data suggest that the attack rate for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in homosexual males has peaked and is probably declining, but the incidence is rapidly escalating in the substance abuse population. The high incidence of patients with AIDS and substance abuse has had a negative influence on recruiting the best medical students for training programs in New York City.
