Allied Health: Practice Issues and Trends in the New Millennium.

Lecca PJ, Valentine PA, Lyons KJ, eds. Binghamton, NY 13904-1580, The Haworth Press, 2003, hardcover/paperback, 428 pp, ISBN: 0-7890-1846-2 (hardcover), 0-7890-1847-0 (paperback), $79.95 (hardcover), $49.95 (paperback).

The sweeping language of this book's title is the first indication that the editors intend this book to go beyond a mere explanation of allied health profession. This book's goal is to alter the traditional view of the allied health professions. Instead of focusing inward on each profession as a separate discipline, these editors chose to examine the allied health professions as a single entity. This broad approach allows the chapter authors to discuss the growing potential for the allied health professions to exert influence on the delivery of health care services both in the present and in the future. The scope of the content encourages individual practitioners to examine not only the evolution and contribution of their own discipline, but to critically examine the role that allied health fills in the health care environment.

The book is organized into 19 chapters, with each addressing a different aspect of health care service delivery. The clearly written chapters vary in length and are written by authors who are closely involved with allied health care practice, policy, and education. Most chapters contain clinical scenarios and extensive reference lists to provide the reader with additional resources on each topic. The appendix includes a listing of allied health care organizations and affiliates, including complete addresses, phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, and Web sites when available.

The text begins with a historic overview of the origins and development of the allied health professions, laying the groundwork for a clear understanding of how these professions complement and differ from the medical profession. Other chapters build on this concept by examining how demographic changes, government involvement, community desires, and changes in accountability of health care professionals have changed the allied health professions from a supportive role into professions best suited for increasing involvement in primary and community-based care. The chapters on interdisciplinary health care and interprofessional collaborative alliances offer interesting insights into the questions "Who is our client?" and "What model of service delivery is most appropriate for society in the future?" The handling of the topic of allied health education goes well beyond basic information by incorporating content on the influence of technology, the demand for research, the additional clinical competencies demanded by human genomic information, and the preparation of students to meet the future national and global leadership needs of the allied health professions.

This textbook would be an excellent addition to the required reading list of any graduate student in the allied health professions. Although the content of the book as a whole does not fit neatly into any one course, individual chapters would provide thought-provoking material for any course that grapples with issues of professional education, community responsibilities, resource allocation, and the influence of changing societal demographics on the practice of medicine. The material is current and timely and will encourage rehabilitation science students to evaluate their preparation to function effectively as an allied health professional now and in the future. The public policy analysis of the impact of the expanded role of allied health professions in medical service delivery offers a unique viewpoint for students to consider. This book forces students to look beyond the rigid walls of their own disciplines to analyze societal needs of the future and how the allied health professions have changed and must continue to change to meet these demands.

Denise Gaffigan Bender, PT, JD, GCS 

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Oklahoma City, Okla

Ms Bender is Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Program in Physical Therapy and an attorney licensed in Oklahoma. She teaches in the area of administration, professional issues, law and medicine, and geriatrics.