This book introduces students to health policy making, health policy issues, research/evaluation methods, and international perspectives on health policy. Shi uses real-world cases and examples to reinforce theories and concepts throughout the book and addresses all healthcare settings, including public health, managed care, ambulatory care, extended care, and the hospital setting.

Based on the current climate of our nation’s finances and healthcare spending, it is clear that young doctors and medical students are likely to see a dramatic transformation of the manner in which America offers medical care to its citizens over the course of their careers. As such, it is pivotal that the next generation of America’s leaders on the front lines of medicine develop a sense of where healthcare has evolved from and future potential directions of change. An Introduction to Health Policy: A Primer for Physicians and Medical Students is the first of its kind: a book written by doctors for doctors in order to allow busy physicians and medical students to quickly develop an understanding of the key issues facing American healthcare. This book seeks to efficiently and effectively educate physicians and medical students in a clinical context that they can understand on the past, present, and potential future issues in healthcare policy and the evolution of American healthcare. The reader will walk away from the book with the ability to discuss the fundamental issues in American healthcare with ease.

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.

Used across the public health field, this is the leading text in the area, focusing on the context, participants and processes of making health policy.

Providing an introduction to the way health policies are made and who influences them, this book combines a comparative analytical framework for understanding health policy with a wide range of examples of actual policy choices from North and South. In its exploration of power, the book focuses on the role of the state in the context of interest groups and other actors. It looks at the nature of political systems and the extent to which participation is encouraged. It also explores issues of global influence, asking how far the North shapes health policies in the South. In its exploration of processes, the book asks how issues get on to the policy agenda, what the processes of formulation are and who the influential actors are.

Analyses the process, implementation, and outcomes of health policy in Canada. This title compares Canadian health policy to other systems such as the United States, Sweden, the UK, and Cuba. It provides various models of the policy-development and implementation process.

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.