Moment of Truth for the Teaching Hospitals

The nation's teaching hospitals — complex, expensive, and dependent on public support to sustain their many activities — are heading into more stressful times that will force many of these institutions to question and perhaps dramatically alter their basic operations. Like any set of American institutions that prospered in the bountiful times of yesterday, most teaching hospitals are resisting and will continue to resist major change; yet, given the policy directions of government and the expressed concerns of private insurers over cost shifting, maintaining the status quo no longer seems a viable option for many of them.Teaching hospitals are . . .