The Health Care Handbook: A Clear and Concise Guide to the United States Health Care System

The American health care system is vast, complex and confusing. Books about it shouldn't be. The Health Care Handbook is your one-stop guide to the people, organizations and industries that make up the U.S. health care system and major issues the system faces today. The Handbook covers:*Inpatient and outpatient health care and delivery systems *The different types of health insurance and how they're structured*Health policy and government health care programs, including the Affordable Care Act*Concise summaries of 31 different health professions*Economic concepts and the factors that make health care so expensive*The Pharmaceutical and Medical Device industriesEach section introduces the key facts and foundations that make the health care system work in a clear and neutral manner. The book also includes balanced analyses of current challenges and controversies in health care, including medical errors, government regulation, medical malpractice, high drug

*Starred Review* Medical students Askin and Moore have partnered to write an extremely easy-to-understand book that explains the U.S. health-care system. The book succeeds in making sense of health care without opinion, bias, or dense textbook language. Divided into five chapters, the book contains a wealth of information that will leave health-care professionals, students, and patients well educated about a system that usually leaves everyone confused. “Health Care Systems and Delivery” covers the different kinds of hospitals (public, private, for-profit, and physician-owned) as well as networks and outpatient care. “Health Care Providers” explains the titles of various health-care workers, from doctor to nurse-practitioner to medical transcriptionist, and includes licensing, certification, and education requirements for each profession. “Insurance and Economics” covers the various types of medical insurance in detail and breaks down the economic concepts of health care, including administrative overhead, behavioral economics, chronic care, government regulations, and overtreatment. “Research, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Devices” explains the costs of prescriptions, what qualifies as a generic drug, and evidence-based medicine. “Policy and Reform” includes a large section on the Affordable Care Act that is thorough and dispassionate in its explanation—a refreshing change from many books on the topic. Packed with easy-to-use tables, graphs, and charts, this inexpensive book is a must-have for anyone who wants a basic understanding of the U.S. health-care system. Highly recommended for all medical, public, and academic libraries. --Steve Stratton