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From: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Credentials, State vs. private
Message-ID: <743@psivax.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 21-Sep-85 11:00:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: psivax.743
Posted: Sat Sep 21 11:00:21 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 26-Sep-85 07:11:20 EDT
References: <1789@psuvax1.UUCP> <4333@alice.UUCP>
Reply-To: friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen)
Organization: Pacesetter Systems Inc., Sylmar, CA
Lines: 25
Summary: 

In article <4333@alice.UUCP> ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig) writes:
>
>They still are.  Regulations or not, half of all doctors are below
>the median!  There is NOTHING you can ever do to change this!
>And regulations that allow physicians to avoid competing with
>each other make it easier, not harder, for an incompetent to stay
>in business.

	Of *course* half the doctors are below the median! That is the
*definition* of median! What is important is how high the median is,
that is how good the worst doctors are. I maintain that the current
median is *much* higher than it was before credentially was
established. What we call an "incompetent" doctor today would likely
half been an above average doctor a century ago. Except in small rural
areas where everyone knows everyone else, it is simply too difficult
for the individual to evaluate the relative competence of doctors at
all adequately. Remember, the current system was established because
there was a major problem with *completely* unqualified doctors, not
merely underqualified doctors as we have today.
-- 

				Sarima (Stanley Friesen)

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