Three years in its creation, Comprehensive Healthcare for the U.S.: An Idealized Model brings together contributions from physicians, nurses, administrators, and social workers from around the globe to critically examine the mire of excellent technical quality and inefficient delivery that has become the United States healthcare system.
Written by award-winning author William Roth, the book systematically explores the key elements that must be part of any comprehensive model. Roth examines facility network and staffing patterns. He looks at approaches to decision making, the financial model, the design of a universal information system, training/education, and malpractice policy. He then provides a discussion of how these challenges are dealt with by 12 other nations, all of which, according to the World Health Organization, rank higher than the U.S.in terms of services provided for citizens.
Roth tackles the larger philosophical issues and their connection to the specifics without obscuring the discussion with excessive statistics. He systematically shreds the inflammatory political rhetoric that is often used to shut down intelligent debate. He explores what it might take to make comprehensive care available to all, ways to shift our focus to wellness and prevention, the overuse of and lack of incentive for providers in universal systems, though some form of universal care is necessary, as well as the key role that the private sector must play in any approach.
From there, the author draws from the best to design an idealized model for comprehensive healthcare that would fit the unique requirements of the United States. Referenced and researched to satisfy the needs of policy professionals and sector administrators, the book is lucidly written so that it provides all stakeholders with a more complete grasp of the involved problems as well as of the proven solutions that can be put into place once we understand their value and their viability.
A highly readable book on healthcare
that‘s well worth the reading:
informative, insightful, and innovative
- Disscuses whether healthcare is a right or a privilege
- Provides essential information in an easy-to-read format that educates without burying readers in statistical data
- Draws from the best healthcare innovations in other nations
- Offers a comprehensive model for U.S. healthcare rather than just one or several pieces of such a model
- Addresses major problems including cost, variances in access and quality of care, malpractice, competition, inadequate health records and access to information, lack of a preventative focus
Chapter 1 Introduction
The Challenge
Dealing with the Weaknesses
Reference
Chapter 2 The Current US Healthcare "Mess"
The Challenge
Policy Issues
Medicare
Medicaid
Veteran’s Administration
Tricare
SCHIP
The Profit Motive
Healthcare Insurance
Cost of Prescription Drugs
Cost of Medical Malpractice Insurance and Malpractice Suits
People Not Doing Their Part and Taking Care of Themselves
The Cost of Education for Healthcare Professionals
References
Chapter 3 Structure and Decision-Making Model in an Idealized Healthcare Network
The Challenge
France
Key Features of the French System
Italy
Key Features of the Italian System
Sweden
Key Features of the Swedish System
Finland
Key Features of the Finnish System
European Union
Japan
Key Features of the Japanese System
An Idealized Structure for a US UHS
UHS Governance System
The National UHS Board of Directors
Regional UHS Boards of Directors
State UHS Boards of Directors
Local UHS Boards of Directors
UHS Administration System
The National UHS Department of Healthcare Administration
State UHS Departments of Healthcare Administration
Local UHS Departments of Healthcare
Administration47UHS Service Delivery
Community Health Centers
Specialized Clinics
General Hospitals
Regional Research, Teaching/Medical Hospitals
Implementation
References
Chapter 4 Network Financial Model
The Challenge
France
Key Features of the French System
Germany
Key Features of the German System
Canada
Key Features of the Canadian System
Japan
Key Features of the Japanese System
Norway
Key Features of the Norwegian System
Interesting Comparisons
An Idealized Finance System for a US UHS
How the Necessary Monies Will Be Raised
How the Money Will Be Spent
Compensation for Healthcare Providers
References
Chapter 5 Network Universal Information System
The Challenge
Information Systems in Other Countries with UHS
Canada
Key Features of the Canadian UHS Approach to
Information
Great Britain
Key Features of the British UHS Approach to Information
Germany
Key Features of the German UHS Approach to Information
Spain
Key Features of the Spanish UHS Approach to Information
Sweden
Key Features of the Swedish UHS Approach to Information
Idealizing a UHS Information System for the United States
Integration Is the Key
Weaknesses of Our Current Approach
US Focus on Individual Pieces of the Healthcare System
Dealing with Information Needs of the UHS as a Whole
Moving Forward
Implementation
References
Chapter 6 Profession Education
The Challenge
Necessary Changes
France
Key Features of the French Healthcare Education System
Italy
Key Features of the Italian Healthcare Education System
Denmark
Key Features of the Danish Healthcare Education System
Canada
Key Features of the Canadian Healthcare
Education System
Japan
Key Features of the Japanese Healthcare
Education System
Idealizing a UHS Healthcare Education System for the United States
The Training of Physicians
Paying for a Physician’s Education
Training of Nurses and Therapists
New Course Requirements
References
Chapter 7 Dealing with Malpractice
The Challenge
Outside Assistance
Holding Down the Size of Rewards
Eliminating the Need for Trials
How Malpractice Is Handled in Other Countries
Sweden
Key Features of the Swedish Malpractice Insurance and Compensation System
France
Key Features of the French Malpractice Insurance and Compensation System
Great Britain
Key Features of the British Malpractice
Insurance and Compensation System
Japan
Key Features of the Japanese Malpractice
Insurance and Compensation System
Similarities in the Countries Studied
Back to the US
Tort Reform
Keeping Watch
So, That’s It
References
Bibliography
About the Author
Index
Biography
William F. Roth, PhD, is currently a professor at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, where he teaches courses in strategic planning, organization design, and management theory. Previously he taught for sixteen years at DeSales University (Center Valley, Pennsylvania), where most of the research for this book was completed.
… the book will help readers understand the current state of the US health care system, as well as the state of other countries to which the United States is often compared. … useful for policy makers as well as for graduate students in various health care and related fields. … the book provides a starting point for discussions about US health care reform without the emotional misrepresentations that are, unfortunately, a part of the debate about health care in this country.
—Yvonne Ford, PhD, RN, CNOR, Western Michigan University, in AORN Journal, Vol. 93, No. 2, Feb. 2011The book closes with recognition that although the idealized model is not likely to be fully implemented, it provides a standard by which to measure and shape health care reform in the US. The work is somewhat distinctive in the recent flood of books dealing with health care reform in that the author is not a health care specialist but a systems analyst.
—C. L. Kammer, The College of Wooster, CHOICE, Vol. 47, No. 11, Aug. 2010