The Operation of Market Forces in Health Care
(1) the autonomy to set its own educational and licensing standards and to police its members for incompetence or malfeasance; (2) its own technical, specialized knowledge that is learned through extended, systematic training; and (3) the public’s confidence that it follows a code of ethics and works more from a sense of service than a desire for profit. professional dominance A profession’s freedom from control by other occupations or groups and ability to control other occupations working in the same sphere. Only priests, for example, can decide whether someone can become a priest, and priests control the training and work responsibilities of lay religious workers in their churches. professional socialization The process of learning the skills, knowledge, and values of an occupation. professionalization Process through which an occupation achieves professional status. pseudodisease Conditions diagnosed as disease based solely on test results but that will never cause health problems for the diagnosed individual. public hospitals Hospitals established by state and federal governments to provide services to groups that would not otherwise receive care. random samples Samples selected in such a way that each member of a population has an equal chance of being selected. When a sample is randomly selected, we can be fairly certain that the selected individuals will represent the population as a whole well. rates Proportions of populations that experience certain circumstances.
