The other health care revolution.

While physicians have been interested participants in the scientific revolution that is transforming the technology of medical care, a social revolution has been changing the way people think about health care, the way they evaluate the services available, and the way they feel about the resources devoted to them. For many years both revolutions sought the same ends, but recently society has begun to object to the cost of health care and question the value of some of our technology. This presentation discusses the following topics: (1) the history of the health care revolutions; (2) forces changing society's perception of health care; (3) society's current perceptions; (4) cost-containment initiatives; (5) factors influencing future changes; (6) provider responses; (7) society's role in health care decisions; and (8) society's social, economic, and ethical challenges.