Provides summaries of statistical information on topics that will be of concern in health care. Chapters on managed care include policy considerations, lessons learned from behavioral managed care approaches, the status of managed behavioral health care in America, & behavioral health care in HMOs. Other chapters provide mental health epidemiological data for adults & children, information on mental health in Medicare & Medicaid programs, mental health services in rural areas, & data on mental health providers. Most chapters cover topics not included in previous editions.

Reviews questions concerned with the financing and provision of Mental Health/Substance Abuse (MH/SA) services that planners need to address in current reform proposals. Summarizes how the President Clinton proposals addressed these problems. Describes the discussions that helped shape the plan and the provisions in it that would affect MH/SA services. Outlines the ongoing issues around MH/SA benefits that concern both the Clinton plan and its legislative alternatives.

Ask for a definition of primary care, and you are likely to hear as many answers as there are health care professionals in your survey. Primary Care fills this gap with a detailed definition already adopted by professional organizations and praised at recent conferences. This volume makes recommendations for improving primary care, building its organization, financing, infrastructure, and knowledge baseâ€"as well as developing a way of thinking and acting for primary care clinicians. Are there enough primary care doctors? Are they merely gatekeepers? Is the traditional relationship between patient and doctor outmoded? The committee draws conclusions about these and other controversies in a comprehensive and up-to-date discussion that covers: The scope of primary care. Its philosophical underpinnings. Its value to the patient and the community. Its impact on cost, access, and quality. This volume discusses the needs of special populations, the role of the capitation method of payment, and more. Recommendations are offered for achieving a more multidisciplinary education for primary care clinicians. Research priorities are identified. Primary Care provides a forward-thinking view of primary care as it should be practiced in the new integrated health care delivery systemsâ€"important to health care clinicians and those who train and employ them, policymakers at all levels, health care managers, payers, and interested individuals.

This volume details the self-reported stress of being Black in the United States, and documents the cultural resources African Americans draw upon to overcome adversity and maintain a positive, healthy perspective on life. Based on data obtained from a United States National Survey of Black Americans, the book first discusses psychological and sociological factors affecting life satisfaction. Contributors then explore how these psychosocial factors contribute to such health problems as alcoholism and hypertension. The volume concludes with an examination of strategies Black Americans use in their attempt to solve life problems. These include: prayer; avoidance; active problem-solving; and seeking help from family, community