Foreword<br >by Norman Cousins<br >It is easy to understand the bewilderment of many persons<br >when they read articles or books about the medical profession.<br >They read that physicians are primarily interested in building<br >up their personal incomes; that physicians will overmedicate，<br >frequently with hazardous drugs; that patients will be exposed<br >to unnecessary diagnostic and surgical procedures; and that<br >physicians tend to undervalue nutrition as a factor in main-<br >taining health and combatting illness.<br > Other articles and books go to the opposite extreme，<br >defending the medical profession without qualification. It will<br >be said that physicians are highly dedicated; that they work<br >under trying， and often exhausting， conditions; that they are<br >highly trained professionals who are utilizing modern science<br >in the service of their patients; and that they are the most<br >highly respected members of society.<br > Siegfried Kra dispels the confusion and restores order to<br >the subject in his analysis of the patient-physician relation-<br >ship. He deals fully， knowledgeably， and lucidly with the<br >central questions regarding the medical profession today. He<br >brings balance and perspective to a difficult， but important，<br >issue and， in so doing， performs a genuine public service.<br >Q<br ><br >