Introduction to U.S. Health Policy - Softcover

Barr, Donald

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9780205324194: Introduction to U.S. Health Policy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0205324193 ISBN 13: 9780205324194

Publisher: Benjamin Cummings, 2001

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Provides a clear description of all key aspects of the health care system to make it easier for the reader to evaluate the potential impact of proposals for health care reform. Using case studies and simplified presentations of major issues, this book gives the reader an appreciation of the dilemma confronting policy makers, providers, and patients: how to balance cost, quality, and access. It examines specific health care organization aspects such as the medical profession, hospitals, managed care organizations, and government health care programs. It also discusses policy changes that have had major impacts on American health care in the past decade. For health care providers, policy makers, consumers and others interested in health care in the U.S.

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About the Author

Donald A. Barr received his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco and his Ph.D. in sociology from Stanford University. His is an associate professor of sociology and human biology at Stanford and is the founder and director of Stanford's undergraduate health policy curriculum. His research focuses on the effect of the organizational structure of the medical care delivery system on the quality of primary care.

Dr. Barr has a unique perspective of being both a practicing physician and an academic sociologist. He has experienced first hand the sweeping changes that have occurred in the organizing and financing of health care through 25 years of medical practice in Northern California. As an experienced researcher and writer in the area of health policy, he is able to combine a broad understanding of the social and economic factors affecting health care with an appreciation of the effects of these changes on the quality of care experienced by patients and practitioners alike.

Dr. Barr is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy, and the American Sociological Association.