Changing characteristics of our economy and their implications in medical education; report of workshop-conference

The workshop conference on Changing Characteristics of Our Economy and Their Implications in Medical Education first studied the economic trends considered most significant. The standard of living doubles every 25 to 30 years. There has been a leveling process in regard to the financial status of the individual, and the "underprivileged" class is disappearing. As more people have more money, they demand more medical services, more physicians, more paramedical workers, and more hospitals. Increased demand by the consumer is a most significant implication of the changing characteristic of the economy. The steady shift from farm to industry is associated with a sharp increase in income and doubling of per capita income. The state of chronic inflation which we have lived in, and seem destined to continue to live in, raises problems for educational institutions, including teaching hospitals. Educational institutions cannot pass on the increased costs to the consumer as rapidly