The Resident Physicians Section (RPS) of the American Medical Association embarked on three major projects in 1979 designed to generate practical approaches to problems confronting resident physicians, as well as other physicians, in the areas of (1) cost-effective medical care, (2) physician impairment, and (3) organizational development. Through its various work groups, the RPS has developed material that will improve physician development as well as patient care by clarifying the issues and proposing guidelines for resident participation.
The Work Group on Cost-Effective Medical Care, led by Russell W. H. Kridel, MD (1979 to 1980 RPS representative on the AMA Liaison Committee on Graduate Medical Education), and Donald S. Winston, MD (1979 to 1980 RPS alternate delegate to the AMA House of Delegates), produced Cost-Effective Medical Care, a guide on cost consciousness for physicians in training. It argues that physicians can and should provide quality health care in the most economical