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December 1973 (Volume 51)
Quarterly Article
Eliot Freidson
Sep 25, 2026
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Based on an extensive field study of the practitioners in a large, prepaid service contract group practice, this paper discusses how a prepaid service contract and closed-panel practice brings a new dimension into doctor-patient relations and how physicians respond to it. Unable to manage “unreasonable” demands for service by use of a fee-barrier or encouragement to “go elsewhere,” as in traditional, solo, fee-for-service practice, they were particularly upset by a new type of “demanding patient” who claimed services on the basis of contractual rights and threatened appeal to higher bureaucratic authority. Modes of dealing with such patients are briefly discussed.
Author(s): Eliot Freidson
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Volume 51, Issue 4 (pages 473–488) Published in 1973