This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Morris, A. H.
Right arrow Articles by Bernstein, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Morris, A. H.
Right arrow Articles by Bernstein, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 82:750 (2000)
© 2000 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.

Letters to The Editor

The Prisoner's Dilemma

Alan H. Morris, M.D. and Joseph Bernstein, M.D., M.S.

To The Editor:

I applaud the Editor's decision to offer "The Orthopaedic Forum" as a means to give the readers of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery a venue to express our thoughts on timely issues of interest to orthopaedic surgeons.

In "Topics in Medical Economics: Lessons of the Prisoner's Dilemma" (82-A: 595-598, April 2000), Dr. Bernstein gives us an excellent insight into the conundrum of physicians' dealings with health-care plans. The "game" of medical payment is indeed one-sided, with the "set of rules" defined solely by the health-care plans. There is little or no opportunity for negotiation. However, Dr. Bernstein's description of physicians as being in a less-than-desirable position is an understatement. Because we are not permitted to communicate with one another, physicians are at a distinct disadvantage and are held hostage by existing antitrust laws. Attempts by physicians to solve the dilemma can, in fact, cause us . . . [Full Text of this Article]


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?