The emerging medical/industrial complex. The industrialization of medicine

Abstract

Until recently, the traditional practice of medicine has been thought of as a cottage industry practiced by individuals or small partnership groups. The transition of practice settings to large groups, multi-specialty groups, and corporations has paved the way to industrialization, with even larger health care organizations primarily managed by non-physicians. The similarities of these events to the industrial revolution and its impact on crafts guilds are striking. In order to understand this point of view, this article explores the function and influence of crafts guilds during stages of industrial development and the dynamics of the changes of employment needs and employability in an industrial environment as a comparison to what is happening in the health care field.