RT Journal
A1 Costello C
T1 THird-party medicine—past, present, and future
JF Journal of the American Medical Association
JO Journal of the American Medical Association
YR 1959
FD August 1
VO 170
IS 14
SP 1716
OP 1718
DO 10.1001/jama.1959.63010140024026
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.1959.63010140024026
AB Medical students have informed me that they hear and read virtually nothing which answers their growing curiosity about third-party practice as they approach their entrance into the private practice of medicine. My views on this subject were sought because I am engaged in the private practice of surgery and have also engaged in the encouragement and planning of third-party medical programs in our community.The term "third party" appears in the 1955 edition of the American Medical Association's "Guiding Principles for Evaluating Management and Union Centers" which, among several features, quotes chapter 7, section 4, pages 26-27 of The Principles of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association, December, 1954: "Free choice of physician is defined as that degree of freedom in choosing a physician which can be exercised under usual conditions of employment between patients and physicians. The interjection of a third party who has a valid interest, or