Delivering Health Care in America.Delivering Health Care in America Shi L, Singh DA. Gaithersburg, MD 20878, Aspen Publishers Inc, 1998, paperback, 597 pp, illus, $49. This text is intended to be an encyclopedic en·cy·clo·pe·dic adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of an encyclopedia. 2. Embracing many subjects; comprehensive: "an ignorance almost as encyclopedic as his erudition" , albeit introductory, presentation of the US health care system. The authors' stated purpose is to provide a systematic general overview that is comprehensive and nonjudgmental non·judg·men·tal adj. Refraining from judgment, especially one based on personal ethical standards. Adj. 1. nonjudgmental . In their attempt to be comprehensive, however, the authors admittedly did not write detailed analyses of the various topics covered. The book is written primarily for students who are pursuing a career in healthcare administration Healthcare administration is a term that typically refers to the Master of Health Administration (MHA)—also Master of Healthcare Administration— degree, which is a graduate professional degree that provides training in health policy, economics, project and or a clinical health care field. In fact, this book is unique because it contains several special features designed to assist the student reader. An article abstracted from a current source, specific to the topic presented, precedes each chapter and gives the reader a feel for how the chapter's contents relate to the "real world." In addition, the beginning of each chapter contains bulleted bul·let·ed adj. Printing Highlighted or set off with bullets: a bulleted list. learning objectives that outline a few of the important issues to be discussed. The end of the chapter contains a summary, a glossary of terminology, and a series of review questions designed to test the reader's comprehension. The book is organized into 5 parts: "System Foundations," "System Resources (1) In a computer system, system resources are the components that provide its inherent capabilities and contribute to its overall performance. System memory, cache memory, hard disk space, IRQs and DMA channels are examples. ," "System Processes," "System Outcomes," and "System Outlook." Each chapter is clearly written with bold subtopics, charts and illustrations, and an impressive list of works has been consulted. Although each chapter may be read separately without sacrificing meaning, the first 3 chapters provide a strong foundation for the reader. In these chapters, the authors discuss the basic characteristics of the US health care system, the systems model and the concept of wellness, and the evolution of health care in the United States Health care in the United States is provided by many separate legal entities. The U.S. spends more on health care, both as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) and on a per-capita basis, than any other nation in the world. Current estimates put U.S. . Subsequent chapters describe areas such as managed care, health service professionals, long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. , medical terminology Medical terminology is a vocabulary for accurately describing the human body and associated components, conditions, processes and procedures in a science-based manner. This systematic approach to word building and term comprehension is based on the concept of: (1) Word roots, (2) , and inpatient and outpatient services outpatient services Hospital-based services Managed care Medical and other services provided, to a nonadmitted Pt, by a hospital or other qualified facility–eg, mental health clinic, rural health clinic, mobile X-ray unit, free-standing dialysis unit Examples . The last two chapters describe the timely topics of health care costs, access, quality, and, what to expect in US health care in the future. This is an excellent text for the student who is interested in a broad overview of how the health care system in the United States works. It provides a solid foundation of understanding and a platform from which to develop a greater knowledge of details by drawing on other texts and articles. Physical therapists interested in a basic understanding of the workings of our health care system will find several of the chapters very useful. Moreover, the easy style of the authors makes the often-tedious topics readable and enjoyable. I highly recommend this text to physical therapists. Mitchell Tannenbaum, PT NovaCare Lisle, Ill Mr Tannenbaum is Clinical Operations Director of the Outpatient Rehabilitation Division at NovaCare. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion