At present we observe a decreasing role for the state in many areas where it used to be prominent. Amidst severe budgetary cuts, the state and its organs are confronted with ever louder calls for efficiency in public office (`value for money') and public performance. Simultaneously we see in many democratic welfare states the rise of new institutional forms and social organizations responding to new public priorities. Phenomena like privatization and de-regulation, new forms of regulation and self-regulation, and the rise of special issue groups are an expression of this. This book seeks to provide order in some of today's issues and to offer analysis and explanation for selected topics. The book opens with contributions on the importance of concepts of present-day institutional economics interpreting modern governmental behavior and organization. Subsequent chapters deal with new developments in various fields such as environmental management and conservation, political legitimacy, or the new roles for covenants. Audience: This volume will be of interest for scholars in the fields of public service, government studies and adjacent branches of economics, political science and law.

This book examines methods for selecting topics and setting priorities for clinical practice guideline development and implementation. Clinical practice guidelines are "systematically defined statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances." In its assessment of processes for setting priorities, the committee considers the principles of consistency with the organization's mission, implementation feasibility, efficiency, utility of the results to the organization, and openness and defensibilityâ€"a principle that is especially important to public agencies. The volume also examines the implications of health care restructuring for priority setting and topic selection, including the link between national and local approaches to guidelines development.

A new release in the Quality Chasm Series, Priority Areas for National Action recommends a set of 20 priority areas that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other groups in the public and private sectors should focus on to improve the quality of health care delivered to all Americans. The priority areas selected represent the entire spectrum of health care from preventive care to end of life care. They also touch on all age groups, health care settings and health care providers. Collective action in these areas could help transform the entire health care system. In addition, the report identifies criteria and delineates a process that DHHS may adopt to determine future priority areas.

The dual problems of securing access to health care and containing the increasing costs of health care delivery bring the issue of prioritization to the forefront of health care debates. This study discusses the implications and consequences of allocating priorities to certain groups.

Mental, neurological, and substance use disorders are common, highly disabling, and associated with significant premature mortality. The impact of these disorders on the social and economic well-being of individuals, families, and societies is large, growing, and underestimated. Despite this burden, these disorders have been systematically neglected, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, with pitifully small contributions to scaling up cost-effective prevention and treatment strategies. Systematically compiling the substantial existing knowledge to address this inequity is the central goal of this volume. This evidence-base can help policy makers in resource-constrained settings as they prioritize programs and interventions to address these disorders.

Includes table of health system attainment and performance in all member states (191), ranked by eight measures.