1960's Medicine and Health | Care Questioned

A Critical Study.

Medical care had always been trusted as competent and adequate, but a study published in 1962 by Dr. Ray Trussell from Columbia University questioned that trust. He examined the medical charts of Teamsters Union members and their families who were admitted to New York hospitals.

Shocking Findings.

Trussell deemed the care of about half the patients to be good or excellent, but he judged that one-fourth of the admissions received poor medical service. Patients fared better in nonprofit hospitals, especially those associated with medical schools, where faculty members supervised physicians in training. One out of five hospital admissions he considered unnecessary, and many hysterectomies, or surgical removals of women's uteruses, he thought were being done without good reason.

Concern over Costs.

The study was sponsored by both the Teamsters members and their management, who paid the...