“A Scenario for a New Medicine”

1975 Carlson, Rick J. (b. 1940). “A Scenario for a New Medicine.” In his The End of Medicine (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1975), 238-240. PSt

This section brings together the argument of the book describing medicine in the year 2000 saying that the medical care system “will be smaller than at present and will consume far fewer resources” (238). There will be neighborhood hospitals and learning centers with emergency services, regional health centers, and residential complexes for the elderly that “will stress self-care and responsibility but will provide all necessary medical care on site” (239). Hospital based medical teams will replace independent office practices. Overseeing the system will be a Department of Health Affairs with the mission of ensuring that the environment is “as conducive to health as possible” (239). The author was an attorney and health care consultant who was one of the primary framers of the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Act of 1973. He is the co-author with Gary Stimeling of The Terrible Gift: The Brave New World of Genetic Medicine. New York: Public Affairs, 2002 that has sections on “The Medical Industrial Complex” (9-124), “Dangers of Biotech Medicine” (125-223), and “Alternative Futures” (125-279).