Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: bureaucracy

  • Curing in bureaucracy: Medical professionals and the rise of the US pension system

    Catherine TangPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States The rise of the American federal pension system in the wake of the Civil War made doctors suddenly responsible for denying or approving veterans’ pension applications. This new legal duty sometimes strained the doctor-patient relationship. Dr. John W. Wright, an ophthalmologist in Columbus, OH, recognized that some veterans would have…

  • Book review: Understanding the NHS

    Arpan K. BanerjeeSolihull, United Kingdom The National Health Service in the United Kingdom was founded in 1948 by Aneurin Bevan, a Welsh Labour Party politician and health minister in Clement Attlee’s post-war Labour government. Bevan was a coal miner before entering Parliament in 1928. He had long campaigned for a free health service for all…

  • Business as usual

    David BlitzerNew York, New York, United States Clarissa Myers arrived at the hospital at the usual time on Monday morning. She walked past her assistant, strode into her office, and sat at her desk, just as she had for the past three years. She took a moment to study the view and then turned back…