A new title in the acclaimed Understanding series that focuses on the science of healthcare delivery Over the past decade, the subject of Systems Science has skyrocketed in importance in the healthcare field. With its engaging, clinically relevant style, Understanding Healthcare Delivery Science is the perfect introduction to this timely topic. It covers every aspect of what actually constitutes “best care” and how it can be most efficiently delivered from an operational standpoint. The book is exceptional for two other reasons: numerous case vignettes put the content in a clinically relevant framework, and its comprehensive coverage spans everything from quality and safety to data and policy. Readers will find a valuable opening section that delivers an outstanding introductory discussion of Healthcare Delivery Science Co-author Dr. Michael Howell is a nationally recognized expert on healthcare quality, whose research has been covered by The New York Times, CNN, and Consumer Reports. He has served on national quality- and safety-related national advisory panels for the CDC, Society of Critical Care Medicine, CMS, and others. An active healthcare delivery scientist, Dr. Howell has published more than 90 research articles, editorials, and book chapters on topics related to quality, safety, patient-centeredness, and critical care.

Written by a groundbreaking figure of modern medical study, Tracking Medicine is an eye-opening introduction to the science of health care delivery, as well as a powerful argument for its relevance in shaping the future of our country. An indispensable resource for those involved in public health and health policy, this book uses Dr. Wennberg's pioneering research to provide a framework for understanding the health care crisis; and outlines a roadmap for real change in the future. It is also a useful tool for anyone interested in understanding and forming their own opinion on the current debate.

An argument that understanding healthcare delivery as a complex adaptive system will help us design a system that yields better health outcomes. Breakthroughs in medical science, innovations in medical technologies, and improvements in clinical practices occur today at an increasingly rapid rate. Yet because of a fragmented healthcare delivery system, many Americans are unable to benefit from these developments. How can we design a system that can provide high-quality, affordable healthcare for everyone? In this book, William Rouse and Nicoleta Serban introduce concepts, principles, models, and methods for understanding, and improving, healthcare delivery. Approaching the topic from the perspectives of engineering and statistics, they argue that understanding healthcare delivery as a complex adaptive system will help us design a system that is more efficient, effective, and equitable. The authors use multilevel simulation models as a quantitative tool for evaluating alternate ways of organizing healthcare delivery. They employ this approach, for example, in their discussions of affordability, a prevention and wellness program, chronic disease management, and primary care accessibility for children in the Medicaid program. They also consider possible benefits from a range of technologies, including electronic health records and telemedicine; data mining as an alternative to randomized trials; conceptual and analytical methodologies that address the complexity of the healthcare system; and how these principles, models, and methods can enable transformational change.

The US healthcare system has many excellent components; strong scientific input, extraordinary technology for diagnosis and treatment, dedicated staff and top-class facilities among them. But the system has evolved haphazardly over time and although it has not failed entirely, the authors argue that like any system where attention, is paid to individual components at the expense of the system as a whole, it can never hope to succeed. Above all, they point out that the US system does not provide high value healthcare; it has the highest costs in the world and yet many other countries have lower infant mortality rates and better life expectancy. --

The development of better processes to provide proper healthcare has enhanced contemporary society. By implementing effective collaborative strategies, this ensures proper quality and instruction for both the patient and medical practitioners. Health Care Delivery and Clinical Science: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a comprehensive reference source for the latest scholarly material on emerging strategies and methods for delivering optimal healthcare and examines the latest techniques and methods of clinical science. Highlighting a range of pertinent topics such as medication management, health literacy, and patient engagement, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for professionals, practitioners, researchers, academics, and graduate students interested in healthcare delivery and clinical science.

Health Care USA, Ninth Edition offers students of health administration, public health, medicine, and related fields a wide-ranging overview of America’s health care system. Combining historical perspective with analysis of current trends, this expanded edition charts the evolution of modern American health care, providing a complete examination of its organization and delivery while offering critical insight into the issues that the U.S. health system faces today.

A layman's visual guidebook to understanding health information in the United States.