Health Policy Issues

Healthcare affects the lives of most Americans and absorbs a large portion of the United States' resources. It also is continually debated, prompting ongoing legislative changes and market restructuring. One of the best ways to understand healthcare, in all its complexity, is from an economic perspective -- that is, from the perspective of the financial self-interest of all involved parties. "Health Policy Issues: An Economic Perspective" takes just such an approach. Paul J. Feldstein describes the forces that press for change in healthcare and explains why the US health system has evolved to its current state. The book's 38 concise, issue-oriented chapters cover various aspects of the US health system, including the cost of medical care, health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, physician and nursing shortages, medical school admittance, malpractice reform, prescription drug prices, and more. -- From publisher's description.

Drawing on the work of the Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine, the 2007 IOM Annual Meeting assessed some of the rapidly occurring changes in health care related to new diagnostic and treatment tools, emerging genetic insights, the developments in information technology, and healthcare costs, and discussed the need for a stronger focus on evidence to ensure that the promise of scientific discovery and technological innovation is efficiently captured to provide the right care for the right patient at the right time. As new discoveries continue to expand the universe of medical interventions, treatments, and methods of care, the need for a more systematic approach to evidence development and application becomes increasingly critical. Without better information about the effectiveness of different treatment options, the resulting uncertainty can lead to the delivery of services that may be unnecessary, unproven, or even harmful. Improving the evidence-base for medicine holds great potential to increase the quality and efficiency of medical care. The Annual Meeting, held on October 8, 2007, brought together many of the nation's leading authorities on various aspects of the issues - both challenges and opportunities - to present their perspectives and engage in discussion with the IOM membership.

Health care reform has dominated public discourse over the past several years, and the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act, rather than quell the rhetoric, has sparked even more debate. Donald A. Barr reviews the current structure of the American health care system, describing the historical and political contexts in which it developed and the core policy issues that continue to confront us today. This comprehensive analysis introduces the various organizations and institutions that make the U.S. health care system work—or fail to work, as the case may be. A principal message of the book is the seeming paradox of the quality of health care in this country—on the one hand it is the best medical care system in the world, on the other it is one of the worst among developed countries because of how it is organized. Barr introduces readers to broad cultural issues surrounding health care policy, such as access, affordability, and quality. He discusses specific elements of U.S. health care, including insurance, especially Medicare and Medicaid, the shift to for-profit managed care, the pharmaceutical industry, issues of long-term care, the plight of the uninsured, medical errors, and nursing shortages. The latest edition of this widely adopted text updates the description and discussion of key sectors of America’s health care system in light of the Affordable Care Act.

"The Nation has lost sight of its public health goals and has allowed the system of public health to fall into 'disarray'," from The Future of Public Health. This startling book contains proposals for ensuring that public health service programs are efficient and effective enough to deal not only with the topics of today, but also with those of tomorrow. In addition, the authors make recommendations for core functions in public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances, and identify the level of governmentâ€"federal, state, and localâ€"at which these functions would best be handled.

The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.

Public Health is regarded as the basis and cornerstone of health, generally and in medicine. Defined as the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals, this discipline has been renewed by the incorporation of multiple actors, professions, knowledge areas and it has also been impacted and promoted by multiple technologies, particularly - the information technology. As a changing field of knowledge, Public Health requires evidence-based information and regular updates. Current Topics in Public Health presents updated information on multiple topics related to actual areas of interest in this growing and exciting medical science, with the conception and philosophy that we are working to improve the health of the population, rather than treating diseases of individual patients, taking decisions about collective health care that are based on the best available, current, valid and relevant evidence, and finally within the context of available resources. With participation of authors from multiple countries, many from developed and developing ones, this book offers a wide geographical perspective. Finally, all these characteristics make this book an excellent update on many subjects of world public health.

This revised second edition of Global health care: issues and policies equips students with up-to-date information on various global health topics and perspectives. It prepares readers with a basic perspective of health policy issues in different geographical regions, and explains how they are affected by significant world events. Author Carol Holtz, a nursing professor who understands student needs, outlines the cultural, religious, economic, and political influences on global health to guide students through the text and edits contributions from many notable authors. New to this edition: Updates to all chapters to include timely data and references; Includes coverage of new infectious diseases as well as updated current diseases; Global perspectives on economics and health care is completely revised; Ethical and end of life issues; Human rights, stigma and HIV disclosure; Health and health care in Mexico; An instructor's manual, featuring PowerPoint presentations; ... complete with engaging online learning activities for students.

The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.

Public Health Policy: Issues, Theories, and Advocacyoffers students an engaging and innovative introduction to publichealth policy: its purpose, how it is originated, and how it isimplemented. The book describes the underlying theories andframeworks as well as practical analytical tools needed foreffective advocacy and communication. Drawing on themultidisciplinary nature of public health, the book uses conceptsand examples from epidemiology, law, economics, political science,and ethics to examine the policymaking process, explain positionspro or con, and develop materials for various audiences to furthera public health policy intervention. In addition, Public HealthPolicy shows how policymaking is a complex and integratedtop-down and bottoms-up process that embraces a myriad of publicand private stakeholders. Written by a highly experienced health policy researcher andteacher, the book is rich in resources that will enhance teachingand learning. Each chapter begins with an overview of the chapter,including core terms and concepts, and includes illustrativeexamples of how the highlighted component (law, ethics, economics,politics, epidemiology, and medicine) intersects with publichealth. Discussion questions at the end of every chapter, alongwith an interview from an expert from each of the component fields,give real-world perspectives on how that particular subject relatesto the overall topic. The book also contains 13 case studies thatillustrate the framework discussed in the first part of the book,and show how the different components link to create, sustain,evaluate, or obstruct the development of public health policy. Alsoincluded are primers on two essential policy tools: how to writeresearch policy briefs, and how to craft effective letters to aneditor, including examples of both drawn from the author'spublications in journals and newspapers.

Guide to U.S. Health and Health Care Policy provides the analytical connections showing students how issues and actions are translated into public policies and institutions for resolving or managing health care issues and crises, such as the recent attempt to reform the national health care system. The Guide highlights the decision-making cycle that requires the cooperation of government, business, and an informed citizenry in order to achieve a comprehensive approach to advancing the nation’s health care policies. Through 30 topical, operational, and relational essays, the book addresses the development of the U.S. health care system and policies, the federal agencies and public and private organizations that frame and administer those policies, and the challenges of balancing the nation’s health care needs with the rising costs of medical research, cost-effective treatment, and adequate health insurance. Key Features: The 30 topical essays investigate the fundamental political, social, economic, and procedural initiatives that drive health and health care policy decisions affecting Americans at the local, regional, and national levels Essential themes traced throughout the chapters include providing access to health care, national and international intervention, nutrition and health, human and financial resource allocation, freedom of religion versus public policy, discrimination and health care policy, universal health care coverage, private health care versus publicly funded health care, and the immediate and long-term costs associated with disease prevention, treatment, and health maintenance A Glossary of Key Health Care Policy Terms and Events, a selected Master Bibliography, and a thorough Index are included. This must-have reference for political science and public policy students who seek to understand the issues affecting health care policy in the U.S. is suitable for academic, public, high school, government, and professional libraries.

Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.

Breakthroughs in biomedicine often lead to new life-giving treatments but may also raise troubling, even life-and-death, quandaries. Society's Choices discusses ways for people to handle today's bioethics issues in the context of America's unique history and cultureâ€"and from the perspectives of various interest groups. The book explores how Americans have grappled with specific aspects of bioethics through commission deliberations, programs by organizations, and other mechanisms and identifies criteria for evaluating the outcomes of these efforts. The committee offers recommendations on the role of government and professional societies, the function of commissions and institutional review boards, and bioethics in health professional education and research. The volume includes a series of 12 superb background papers on public moral discourse, mechanisms for handling social and ethical dilemmas, and other specific areas of controversy by well-known experts Ronald Bayer, Martin Benjamin, Dan W. Brock, Baruch A. Brody, H. Alta Charo, Lawrence Gostin, Bradford H. Gray, Kathi E. Hanna, Elizabeth Heitman, Thomas Nagel, Steven Shapin, and Charles M. Swezey.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide benefits based on disability: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. This report analyzes health care utilizations as they relate to impairment severity and SSA's definition of disability. Health Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination identifies types of utilizations that might be good proxies for "listing-level" severity; that is, what represents an impairment, or combination of impairments, that are severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity, regardless of age, education, or work experience.

Featuring analysis of cutting-edge healthcare issues and first-person stories, Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 7th Edition is the leader in helping students develop skills in influencing policy in today’s changing health care environment. Approximately 150 expert contributors present a wide range of topics in this classic text, providing a more complete background than can be found in any other policy textbook on the market. Discussions include the latest updates on conflict management, health economics, lobbying, the use of media, and working with communities for change. With these insights and strategies, you'll be prepared to play a leadership role in the four spheres in which nurses are politically active: the workplace, government, professional organizations, and the community. Comprehensive coverage of healthcare policies and politics provides a broader understanding of nursing leadership and political activism, as well as complex business and financial issues. Taking Action essays include personal accounts of how nurses have participated in politics and what they have accomplished. Expert authors make up a virtual Nursing Who's Who in healthcare policy, sharing information and personal perspectives gained in the crafting of healthcare policy. Winner of several American Journal of Nursing "Book of the Year" awards! NEW! Nine new chapters ensure you have the most up-to-date information on key topics such as ethical dimensions of policy and politics, patient engagement, public health, women's reproductive health, emergency preparedness, new health insurance exchanges, and much more. NEW! The latest information and perspectives are provided by nursing leaders who influenced health care reform, including the Affordable Care Act. NEW! Emphasis on evidence-based policy throughout the text. NEW! A list of web links is included in most chapters for further study.

Americans are accustomed to anecdotal evidence of the health care crisis. Yet, personal or local stories do not provide a comprehensive nationwide picture of our access to health care. Now, this book offers the long-awaited health equivalent of national economic indicators. This useful volume defines a set of national objectives and identifies indicatorsâ€"measures of utilization and outcomeâ€"that can "sense" when and where problems occur in accessing specific health care services. Using the indicators, the committee presents significant conclusions about the situation today, examining the relationships between access to care and factors such as income, race, ethnic origin, and location. The committee offers recommendations to federal, state, and local agencies for improving data collection and monitoring. This highly readable and well-organized volume will be essential for policymakers, public health officials, insurance companies, hospitals, physicians and nurses, and interested individuals.

In April 2001, the Prime Minister established the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. Its mandate was to review medicare, engage Canadians in a national dialogue on its future, and make recommendations to enhance the system's quality and sustainability. The 47 recommendations in this report outline actions that must be taken in 10 critical areas, starting by renewing the foundations of medicare and considering Canada's role in improving health around the world.

This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. This introductory text explores Australian health policy through a novel, problem-orientated approach. It shows the problem-solving techniques that are used when developing policy and demonstrates the skills of analysis and decision making. Introductory chapters explain the problem-orientated approach to health policy development and introduce the policy making process. These are followed by case studies that explore developments in Australian health policy in priority and topical areas. Chapters illustrate how policy-makers respond to perennial and emerging policy problems and demonstrate problem-solving approaches to the conception, development and implementation of health policy. Of particular concern are areas which are in transition or are highly contested. A team of prominent and expert contributors gives an overview of key issues, analyse the policy responses that have occurred and propose directions for the future. Topics covered span governance, values and specific service areas within major established areas of health policy of national concern as well as emerging problems and developments that have occurred in response to well-known cases. Takes a novel, problem-oriented approach to analysing health policy in Australia, which fits well with how policy is often created in practice. Combines a conceptual framework with a rich selection of pertinent and topical case studies by prominent researchers and policy practitioners to put policy analysis in context and give insights from practical experience. Topics have been chosen to appeal to students from a wide range of health backgrounds and include issues in nursing, management, rehabilitation, health information, and technology. Includes questions for discussion in each chapter. A companion Evolve website for Instructors contains chapter-by-chapter notes on review questions, suggestions for tutorial exercises, assignment topics and examination questions.

Preceded by Health policy and politics: a nurse's guide / [edited by] Jeri A. Milstead, Nancy Munn Short. Sixth edition. [2019].

This book makes an original contribution in addressing contemporary critical discussions and reflections on international health policies, strategies, programmes, systems, diseases, disasters, and public health issues. It includes reflections on how levels of governance, development and technical assistance affect countries’ disaster readiness and health systems. In addressing inequalities between the rich and the poor, and unpacking how this affects public health services, policies, strategies and their collective implementation, the book aspires to improve standards of public health and quality of life for sustainable development globally. It provides a comprehensive overview of international health policies and aid structures, and pays particularly close attention to policies on HIV/AIDS in the workplace, discussing how HIV/AIDS has overshadowed non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and stroke, which are on the rise. This book will be of great benefit to students and researchers, as well as policymakers in governmental and non-governmental organisations, who have an interest in achieving greater sustainability and improved health for populations in low-, middle- and high-income countries. It will be an indispensable book for students in Public Health programmes, and related courses.

Policy, performance and finance are the issues currently headlining the healthcare agenda and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Drawing on experiences from around the world, this essential collection examines the key strategic issues facing health services and analyzes the policy implications of leading new research. The volume brings together 16 newly-commissioned studies from leading experts in health studies, in particular: policy, economics, health care management and health services research. International in perspective and scope, it draws on empirical evidence from East and West Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the Middle East. Themes covered include: health policy and technology assessment, policy and performance, international policy innovation, and organizational innovation. This ground-breaking collection will prove a valuable guide for policy makers, managers, practitioners, researchers and students.