The American Medical Association has produced "Medicine in Transition," the first multimedia "issue" of a projected subscription series on managed care, Doctors Resource Service (DRS). Packed into a shelf-sized box, the issue contains four handbooks, a videocassette, and an audiocassette. In an introductory letter, AMA executive vice president James Todd, MD, promises his fellow physicians that it "will make you feel better about change and... help you control it," adding the admonition, "Don't panic." Indeed, nothing in the package should induce panic. "Medicine in Transition" is, if anything, pitched to soothe. Its message for the practicing physician is that managed care is not so bad and that acquainting oneself with the concept is the first step in mastering it.
The featured item in the package is The Physician and Managed Care, by David Vogel (who also moderates a panel discussion in the videotape). This well-organized 105-page book is informed by