Becoming a democracy and having a market driven economy seem to be the goals of virtually every country in the world nowadays. The market system has led to a higher standard of living for more people than any other economic system yet invented. Similarly, democracy has brought the freedom to enjoy that standard of living to billions of people. The recent years have witnessed the transition from...

Society today expects the physician of the future to concern himself increasingly with social justice, the environment and government regulations. However, when attempts are made to deal with these subjects they usually focus on the 'here and now' and not the historical underpinning. The student, practitioner and public, often through the media, marvel at the contemporary medical scene with its...

Prospective clinical research is given the greatest weight in evidence-based clinical practice recommendations, and therefore has the greatest potential to change care and help the largest number of patients. This article briefly describes the history of government regulation of prospective clinical research, how a prospective clinical research project is developed, and how the researcher seeks...

introduction: for some time now the field of medical education has been criticized by many of its stakeholders. countless debates have been presented in the literature regarding the quality of medical education research, adequacy of methodological rigor, and other concerns. methods: at present, the views expressed have largely come from physicians and individuals with less familiarity with educ...

This feature explores the operation of individual markets. Patterns of behavior in markets for specific goods and services offer lessons about the determinants and effects of supply and demand, market structure, strategic behavior, and government regulation. Suggestions for future columns and comments on past ones should be sent electronically to James R. Hines Jr., Professor of Economics, Univ...

Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) continues to plague health-oriented government regulation. This is particularly reflected in recent challenges to tobacco control measures through bilateral investment agreements. There are numerous reform proposals circulating within the public health community. However, I suggest that perhaps it is time for the community to explore a stronger position ...