Rationing: Constructed Realities and Professional Practices: Sociology of Health and Illness Monographs

Unusually for a book on this topic, many of the chapters provide detailed accounts of micro-level decision making at the point of service delivery. They seek to penetrate the 'black box' of the organisation - the emergency department, the intensive care unit, the cancer genetics clinic or the community mental health team - to shed light on processes by which access to care is denied, delayed, or otherwise limited. The book presents a picture of rationing processes that are 'implicit' rather than 'explicit', and closely woven into the fabric of professional cultures and modes of working.