The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In "Looking Back 50 Years in Hospital Administration," Graham and Sibbald identify five principal themes in the 1962 issues of Hospital Administration in Canada: the evolution of nursing, funding and legislation, hospital design, patient care and infection control and leadership. These themes are of course consistent with thematic concerns regarding healthcare in 2012; in some ways, this consistency over 50 years is disappointing, but not surprising. This commentary examines some of the specific themes.