The purpose of the study was to examine existing information on the level of quality of medical care delivered by foreign medical graduates (FMGs), as part of a broader consideration of policies relating to FMGs and health care delivery in the United States. Quality of care is considered to comprise both technical care and the "art of care." FMGs do differ from U.S. medical graduates (USMGs) with respect to structural characteristics: (1) FMGs are younger than USMGs; (2) they have a longer undergraduate education (with less clinical experience and less favorable faculty-student ratio, generally); (3) as a group, they are less successful on the usual screening (ECFMG), licensure (FLEX), and specialty board certification examinations than are USMGs as a group: and (4) a high proportion of FMGs had some or all of their medical education in English, but problems with English as a second language persist. A number of basic similarities between FMGs and USMGs exist: (1) they train and practice in specialties to the same degree; and (2) although FMGs are found to a much higher degree than USMGs in training programs that are unaffiliated with medical schools, an ever-increasing proportion take their training in affiliated programs. Two studies using process measures to assess the quality of care delivered by USMGs and FMGs were inconclusive. Lack of concrete evidence made formulating policy recommendations difficult. However, four areas of future research or evaluation are proposed: comparative studies, education of the less able practitioner, quality assurance and peer review, and characteristics of the FMG physician pool. (Author/MSE)