Washington University School of Medicine Oral Histories
Gerald T. Perkoff Oral History
Interviewer
Estelle Brodman, PhD
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Summary
Gerald T. Perkoff was interviewed by Estelle Brodman on January 8, 1974, for approximately 85 minutes.
Scope and Content
Perkoff describes his accelerated educational experience at Washington University during World War II and his decision to accept an internship at the University of Utah. He discusses his early research in metabolic and hereditary diseases at the University of Utah, where he was on the faculty and chief of the medical service of the Veterans Administration Hospital. Perkoff relates his returning to St. Louis, his efforts at St. Louis City Hospital to establish a full-time Department of Medicine, and the founding of the Division of Health Care Research at the Washington University School of Medicine. There is an extended discussion of the establishment of a health maintenance organization at Washington University, the Medical Care Group, its structure, financial structure and goals, and its role in training physicians. Perkoff also discusses the delivery of health care in rural settings, his predictions for the development of allied health personnel programs, and the future of medical care delivery.
Biographical Information: Interviewee
Gerald T. Perkoff received his medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine in 1948. After an internship and residency in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah, Perkoff became an investigator at the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Disease at the National Institutes of Health from 1952-1954. Perkoff then returned to the University of Utah, serving as Research Instructor in Medicine, 1954-1958, and Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, 1958-62. In addition, he was Chief of the Medical Service of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salt Lake City, 1961-1963. In 1963, Perkoff returned to St. Louis and the Washington University School of Medicine, joining the faculty as Associate Professor of Medicine. He served as Professor of Medicine from 1965-1979 and as Director of the Division of Health Care Research from 1968-1979. In 1979, Perkoff became a Curators' Professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine.
Biographical Information: Interviewer
Estelle Brodman, PhD (1914-2007) served as an Assistant librarian for reference service at the National Library of Medicine, 1949-1961. She became the Library Director and Professor of Medical History at Washington University School of Medicine in 1961, and served in these positions until her retirement in 1981. Brodman served as the Editor of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association from 1947-1957, and as President of the Medical Library Association, 1964-1965.
Interview Date
1974-01-08
Collection Identifier
OH013
Length
Approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Restrictions
Users wishing to publish (in whole, or in part) content taken from the audio or transcript of this oral history interview must request, sign, and return a Statement of Use form to the Becker Archives. For detailed information regarding publication and use of this oral history, contact the Becker Archives (arb@wusm.wustl.edu).
Recommended Citation
Gerald T. Perkoff Oral History, OH013, Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Disclaimer
The Becker Archives provides access to this oral history interview as a record of the past. This interview reflects the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of the interview participants, which may reflect outdated, biased, and offensive views and opinions. The Becker Archives does not endorse the views expressed in this interview, which may contain materials offensive to some users.
