Beyond "The Role of Medicine": McKeown as Medical Philosopher

Technical and methodological inadequacies inherent in the approach to the role of medicine are exaggerated by the semblance of a utilitarian viewpoint and occasional quasi-Darwinian overtones. But McKeown's reformist intentions-consistent throughout his major analyses-are far from nihilistic. The touchstone of all his work is embodied in the insight that a health care system will only be rationalized once the institutions that compose it are themselves rationalized in a larger framework of issues and problems.

Author(s): Ronald M. Green

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Volume 55, Issue 3 (pages 389–403)
Published in 1977