Doctors, Patients and Society

What moral and legal issues are involved in the physician-patient relationship? What is bioethics? What social and environmental factors are involved in health and disease? An interdisciplinary workshop of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities in May 1980 considered these issues, as well as health care delivery, the history of public health in Canada, conflicting "health cultures," and responsibilities of professionals on the health care team. Participating in the conference were prominent scholars and professionals in social edicine, community health, nursing, law, medical research, medical education, and various academic disciplines. They included Dr. Thomas McKeown, Dr. David Roy, Professor Hazel Weidman, Professor Benjamin Freedman, Dr. Anthony Lam, and Dr. Robert Hatfield.