George Soros Announces $15 Million Effort to Combat "Marketplace Values" in Medicine

[James Love <love@cptech.org>]

George Soros Announces $15 Million Effort to Combat
          "Marketplace Values" in Medicine

 Philanthropist and financier George Soros has announced
 that his Open Society Institute <http://www.soros.org> will
 spend $15 million over three years to combat the influence
 of money on medical care. The funds will be funneled through
 a new program initiative to be called Medicine as a
 Profession (MAP).

 In a speech at the College of Physicians & Surgeons of
 Columbia University on April 15, Soros criticized the
 dominance of marketplace values in the teaching and
 practice of modern medicine.

 "There is unanimity among doctors, deans, historians, and
 health economists that money has never been so much in the
 forefront of medicine or potentially so powerful in deter-
 mining medical decisions," said Soros. "We have never more
 needed professional ethics to stand out against marketplace
 forces than now."

 Medicine as a Profession will make funds available to bring
 together medical organizations and consumer organizations
 and help make them a "force for change" in the health care
 field. In addition, MAP will help teach young medical
 professionals how to serve and how to advocate for their
 patients, particularly patients coming from underserved
 communities.

 "Soros to Announce $15 Million to Combat Influence of
 Money in Medicine; New Program to Counter Threat Posed to
 Professional Values and Ethics by For-Profit, Marketplace
 Forces." PR Newswire 4/15/99.


-- 
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
I can be reached at love@cptech.org, by telephone 202.387.8030,
by fax at 202.234.5176. CPT web page is http://www.cptech.org