Explaining medical practice variation: social organization and institutional mechanisms

In general, patients expect that the medical treatment they receive is provided by physicians who adhere to professional norms which are based on evidence. The existence of variations in medical practice challenges that general belief. In the assumption that treatment by physicians is based on theoretical knowledge and the medical condition of the patient, similar patients with similar conditions would receive the same treatment, irrespective of the physician, hospital or practice they attend. However, examples from literature show a different situation. In this book several hypotheses on the... Mehr ...