Correspondence
Forgotten Tar Heel?
N Engl J Med 1998; 338:335January 29, 1998
- Article
To the Editor:
I enjoyed John Iglehart's report on the recent Private Sector Conference at Duke University (June 19 issue).1 However, I must take issue with his assertion that “Duke . . . has an academic medical center with no major academic competitor.” That is tantamount to suggesting that Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils have no in-state basketball competition. Now remind me, which Atlantic Coast Conference team went to the Final Four last year?
1 ReferencesDouglas J. Robertson, M.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 275991
Iglehart J . Listening in on the Duke University Private Sector Conference. N Engl J Med 1997;336:1827-1831
Full Text | Web of Science | Medline
Author/Editor Response
Mr. Iglehart replies:
To the Editor: Dr. Robertson is correct in challenging my assertion that Duke has no major academic competitor in its back yard. Clearly, I was not explicit enough. What I meant to convey was the view that in regard to Duke's early efforts to challenge managed care head on, by forming its own managed-care company in a joint venture with the New York Life Insurance Company, no other nearby academic center could be considered a competitor. Duke also formed a primary care physician corporation in 1994 to bolster its capacity to delivery primary care. The University of North Carolina is now making strong strides to recognize the reality of managed care, but Duke clearly was the leader of the two in addressing this phenomenon.
Regarding their respective prowess on the basketball court in 1997–1998, I'll leave that to others.
John K. Iglehart
, Bethesda, MD 20814
