January 15, 1999

Thanks for Steven Sharfstein's September 18, 1998, "Viewpoints" column advocating a humane single-payer health care delivery system. The only nit I could pick is with the choice of the "r" word in the title. To me a single payer solution is more rational than it is radical. Witness western Europe, Canada, and Israel.

There will be an exception to the humane descriptor. The insurance industry's suffering will resemble the experiences of the defense industry and military after the end of the Cold War; these are unavoidable side effects.

I hope we can look forward to future radical/rational wise "Viewpoints" columns about capitation and post hoc assessment of clinical quality and effectiveness.

Saul Isaac Harrison, M.D.
Pacific Palisades, Calif.