This second edition reviews recent reforms and the likely impact of future developments in management and competition in the NHS. In particular, it reflects the growing importance of primary care and the continuing debates about health care rationing. It concentrates on the realities and how they can be interpreted to help strategists, managers, clinicians, students and those supplying the NHS understand the mechanism of efficient health care delivery.

Risk is an enduring theme of modern life. It permeates political, economic and environmental domains. Some risks are unavoidable. Others are not. Innovative Thinking in Risk, Crisis, and Disaster Management provides ideas and action plans for in a risk society. Dealing with issues of civil safety and security, the book addresses the management of socio-technical risks and hazards, environmental risk, and risk perception. Focusing on risk reduction, chapters cover key themes such as terrorism, public order, emergency responding, energy supply, climate change, and natural disasters. Featuring contributions from expert scholars, the book is both accessible and original. Practitioners in the emergency services, industry and commerce will find the book to be valuable reading, whilst for policy makers, students and academics with a focus on risk and crisis management, this is an essential reference.

An introduction to hazards, human vulnerability and disaster, paying particular attention to the more severe or novel risks and disaster that affect the general public. The book is split into two parts, the first of which gives an overview of the field of risk and disaster in terms of three perspectives: hazards perspective; vulnerability perspective and the active perspective. The second part illustrates and develops these ideas in relation to some of the more severe dangers and disasters of the twentieth century, for example, earthquake risk, cities at risk and the civil disasters of war.

* A practical introduction to the business of management for doctors and managers at all levels * This simple guide provides easy-to-use tools and techniques * It explains jargon, presents managerial tasks in context and provides managerial models

Rationalization is concerned with making the most effective use of the resources available. In many places where this process is taking place it is plagued with public opposition and misunderstanding. Hitherto, rationalization in the acute care sector has primarily been concerned with closing sites, closing beds, moving beds between services, and moving beds from one site to another. This book discusses the need for rationalization in the context of health service reforms and future strategy. It considers recent changes in the health service, the case for rationalization, health care needs, the role of public relations, the future of the acute care hospital, site and facilities appraisal, and the costs of rationalization. The text is essential reading for managers and clinicians involved in acute care services, non-executive members of boards and trusts, and students of health services management.

With the advent of the new health authorities, multifunds and consortia, it is likely that the GP's professional leadership of primary care will rapidly become only one of a number of provider options. This book defines some of the future options for the organization of primary care. The evolving possible roles of GPs and practices in these changing circumstances are examined closely. As the new health authorities come into full legislative force, how will they deploy the combined financial allocations for primary and secondary care to support their new capacity to enter into local contracts? Which health care providers will emerge in this market place in response to this shift in commissioning power? These are critical questions for general practice. With contributions from a variety of sources that reflect the varied origins of organizational initiatives, this is a book for planners, providers and purchasers of extended primary care.

This book presents an evaluation framework for assessing the impact of the new media on the health care system by juxtaposing characteristics of emerging information and communication technologies (interactive, seamlessly connected, and user-driven) and health care objectives (to increase access, improve quality, and manage costs). Each chapter provides a unique set of tools and perspectives on how to harness these new media to improve individual health and the health care delivery system. This innovative volume has also stimulated the creation of a "Forum on Health and the New Media" on the World Wide Web (http: //Health.Dartmouth.edu/NewMedia/). The forum offers highlights of the book as well as links to the authors and related web sites.
The volume is divided into six sections as follows:
*The "Overview" juxtaposes characteristics of the new media (interactive, connected, and user-driven) with the three criteria for health care improvement: increased access, improved quality, and cost management. It offers a New Media and Health Care matrix of criteria for building and evaluating emerging health care systems.
*The "Delivery" -- how new media can enhance the delivery of health care -- includes chapters on: managed care, demand management and self-care, telemedicine for rural residents, and how the Internet can be used to facilitate collaboration among health researchers and providers.
*Health Information -- the life blood of health care -- addresses the potential for: extending the traditional flow of health information (from researchers to providers) to reach patients who want to share in decisions about their care; and the federal government's role in providing health information to the public.
*Health Education discusses: integrating multimedia health programming for public schools; using networked multimedia and simulation technologies and new learning theories that promise to transform public health education; and educating health providers and patients through interactive media and drama.
*Potholes Along the Highway provides a sobering balance to otherwise rather optimistic assumptions that a national information infrastructure will be forthcoming.
*The New Media: Annotated Glossary provides computing and networking technology tools for readers who are not fluent in cyberlanguage.

The need for a more conscious, focused and proactive approach to the management of health-care organizations has increased substantially. One consequence of this is that health-care managers are having to look at managerial approaches and techniques that previously were the province of the private sector. Prominent among those is the whole area of marketing. This work takes a broad approach to the marketing process, highlighting some of the challenges that health-care managers and medical professionals are having to face. Having done this, the authors move on to examine some of the characteristics of good and bad management practice. It is against this background that, in subsequent chapters, they turn their attention to the question of marketing and how it might best contribute to the management of organizations throughout the health sector. Each chapter includes questions and checklists offering scope for applying marketing principles to primary and secondary health-care organizations of all types, sizes and specialities.

This book focuses on the problems in America's health care system that have developed over the past 30 years and that will be with us for the next 30 years. It goes beyond mind-numbing quantitative data to probe the underlying causes of the nation's difficulties. Three broad questions are addressed: Why are health care costs in the United States higher than elsewhere? What needs to be done to bring down costs without lowering quality? Is America doing enough about research, prevention, and public information?

This book focuses on the problems in America's health care system that have developed over the past 30 years and that will be with us for the next 30 years. It goes beyond mind-numbing quantitative data to probe the underlying causes of the nation's difficulties. Three broad questions are addressed: Why are health care costs in the United States higher than elsewhere? What needs to be done to bring down costs without lowering quality? Is America doing enough about research, prevention, and public information?

The power of purchasers exposes the weaknesses of conventional thinking on the costs and benefits of priorities. Health policy analysts now have to develop rational criteria to support decisions in a process which may be inherently intuitive. This authoritative and practical text points the way towards clear choices in resource allocation and the implications of these choices on expenditure diverted among different health care programmes.

Child surveillance is a subject of increasing scientific, social and political debate in many countries of the world. In the UK, protocols for effective action are based on a government report, 'Health for all children'. The research which gave rise to these protocols has been developed further in the Netherlands and, drawing on the experience of other health care systems, has produced conclusions which challenge some widely-accepted assumptions about appropriate procedures. This book reviews the international research and recommendations of the Dutch working party. It presents an authoritative and practical survey of the contents and frequency of child health surveillance programmes, procedures for quality control and improvement, possibilities for parental involvement, and the levels of expertise necessary to run programmes effectively. It offers a clear vision of a more sophisticated approach to child health care and is therefore an important reference for community paediatricians and others involved in the development of primary care.

In every developed country, health care managers, clinicians, purchasers and providers are having to extract greater output from cash-limited resources. This book reviews a wide range of areas of current concern together with the practical experience of those responsible for improvement and change. The opportunities and pitfalls they identify should stimulate innovation and fresh ideas in those faced with similar situations.

A clear analysis of the design, potential uses and limitations of questionnaires in measuring health from the perspective of the patient. Practical examples illustrate the methodological issues and guide the reader through good and bad practice. The book will appeal to academics, postgraduates and advanced undergraduates in medical sociology, health economics, social/health psychology, public health and epidemiology. It will also be extremely helpful to social science researchers outside these areas who have an interest in the use of questionnaires in an applied field.; "Social research today" is a forthcoming series of books devoted to the illumination of significant methodological topics in the social sciences and professional social research. The structure of social inquiry combines two separate elements: empirical evidence and organizing ideas and theories. Both are necessary for successful social understanding; one without the other is barren. This series will be concerned with the means by which this structure is maintained and kept standing and upright. The books in the series are intended for undergraduates in the social sciences, postgraduate students undergoing research training, and those undertaking social research of whatever kind. Broadly conceived, research methodology refers to the general grounds for the validity of social science propositions. How do we know what we do know about the social world? More narrowly, it deals with questions such as h.; This book is intended for academics, postgraduates and advanced undergraduates within medical sociology, health economics, social/health psychology, public healthand epidemiology. Social science researchers with an interest in theuse of questionnaires in an applied field.

In the face of the relentless rise in health costs, many countries have had to set priorities so that maximum benefit can be made of unlimited funds. This book shares the experience of those which have taken a lead in this field, and draws on models being developed in Oregon, New Zealand, The Netherlands and Sweden as well as the UK. It discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each system from which healthcare planners and managers can draw their own conclusions and apply to the situation for which they are responsible.

This book concerns itself with the key question: how to improve health in a cost effective and politically acceptable way. What makes people healthy? Why are the poor less healthy than the rich? Why do some countries have a better health record than others? An Introduction to Health is divided into four parts comprising the determinants of health, health service planning, health service financing, and controlling costs and securing user-friendly services.

Until now, no textbook on TQ has emerged that was written specifically for the healthcare industry. The Textbook of TQ in Healthcare is the first true text prepared by healthcare professionals for healthcare professionals. It provides a discussion of the tools, techniques and principles of TQ. Academic programs will find this text very useful for courses in TQ, quality management, general and strategic management and leadership.The Textbook is also an excellent reference for students and professionals in medicine, nursing, allied health services, pharmacy and healthcare administration.
The Textbook of TQ in Healthcare starts with an introduction and history of TQ and its movement from the manufacturing sector to the healthcare industry. Quality is then discussed as a major cornerstone of the healthcare delivery system. Principles, methods for implementation and the tools for assessing TQ progress are described. The Textbook concludes with a section on comparative analysis of TQ with other management philosophies. Also presented are a case study of a major healthcare facility that has actually implemented TQ and an excellent collection of articles that further expand the understanding of TQ.

In recent years the problem of homelessness has escalated into a critical social issue stimulating a wave of concern from the voluntary sector, pressure groups and policy makers. As shopfronts, underpasses and doorways are transformed into hotels for the needy, the shock of homelessness becomes ever more public. These homeless people are the most vulnerable sector of the population to illness and disease and, as they are not part of the system, they are the most isolated from the welfare services.

Uniting the best of Michael Fagel and Jennifer Hesterman's books in the fields of homeland security and emergency management, the editors of this volume present the prevailing issues affecting the homeland security community today. Many natural and man-made threats can impact our communities-but these well-known and highly respected authors create order from fear, guiding the reader through risk assessment, mitigation strategies, community EOC planning, and hardening measures based upon real-life examples, case studies, and current research in the practice. As terrorist attacks and natural disasters continue to rock the world, Soft Targets and Crisis Management emphasizes the vulnerability of soft targets like schools, churches, and hospitals, and presents the methodology necessary to respond and recover in the event of a crisis in those arenas. Features: Based on ASIS award-winning texts Provides a multi-faceted look at crisis management principles Offers community-specific examples for diverse locales and threat centers Includes up-to-date case studies on soft target attacks from around the world A must-read for security, emergency management, and criminal justice professionals, Soft Targets and Crisis Management: What Emergency Planners and Security Professionals Need to Know is a crucial text for practitioners seeking to make the world a safer place for others.

This book contains the proceeding of the conferences on Disasters and the Small Dwelling, held at Oxford in September 1990. The 26 papers cover recent experiences of post-disaster shelter and housing provision, review what has been achieved, what needs disseminating and implementing, and assesses what needs further development. The volume thus defines an international agenda to achieve safer low-income dwellings in the course of the 1990s, designated International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction by the UN. It will be essential reading for anyone - whether governmental or non-governmental agency officials, academic researchers, representatives of private industry or consultants - whose work involves analysis, shelter, mitigation and reconstruction programmes for low-income dwellings in disaster-prone areas.

This book concerns itself with the key question: how to improve health in a cost effective and politically acceptable way. What makes people healthy? Why are the poor less healthy than the rich? Why do some countries have a better health record than others? An Introduction to Health is divided into four parts comprising the determinants of health, health service planning, health service financing, and controlling costs and securing user-friendly services.

The training, employment, and career movement of doctors is of fundamental concern to all those working in and administrating the National Health Service and private medicine within Britain and around the world. "Doctors' Careers" makes available to a wide readership, in one volume, the results of a comprehensive survey of mdical choices and career progress of doctors qualifying from British medical schools during a decade, from 1974 to 1983. No other survey of this kind has been carried out over a prolonged period of time. This is a unique record of the aspirations, feelings and experiences of a very large group of doctors, during a time of considerable changes in emigration, training for general practice, and the position of women doctors. The book deals with these issues, and also the reasons for choosing and changing careers within medicine, postgraduate qualifications, internal migration of doctors within the UK, aspects of some important individual specialisms - medicine, surgery, psychiatry, and anaesthetics - and the personal opinions of doctors about their training and the career problems of British medicine. The data has important implications for medical staff planning,

This book assesses critically the British approach to hazard management and emergency planning. It identifies the principal legal, organizational and cultural impediments to more effective hazard management and emergency planning, postulates explanations for the shortcomings in the British approach and examines a number of promising avenues for improving current practice. It comprises 18 chapters written by experts with a wide range of practical experience in the many different aspects of the field. Many of the authors introduce international perspectives and comparisons. From it all, the editors conclude, sadly: 'The overall hazard and emergency management approach currently adopted in Britain appears to be inadequate and current standards of protection appear to be inefficient for the 1990s and beyond'

This volume is written especially for health professionals affiliated with hospitals, veterinary clinics, dental offices, dental laboratories, toxicological testing laboratories, and pharmaceutical laboratories as a contribution to attain security in such working environments. Possible hazards in the working environments for the health professionals are discussed, followed by recommendations of the various precautions that may be taken to avoid these hazards. The possible hazards in hospitals discussed are ergonomics, physical hazards, chemical hazards, and bacteriological risks. The ergonomics, chemical hazards, and bacteriological risks for dental offices and veterinary clinics are also explained.

This book examines the best ways to provide primary care at nights and weekends. There has been increasing demand from patients for out-of-hours care, and a great reorganisation of primary care services outside normal surgery hours. Different models of organisations are being tested, including primary care centres and nurses giving telephone advice. This book examines the tensions between public and professional expectations, and describes the range of options for providing services, with examples of good practice. It reviews the evidence about what works best, and the issues to consider in setting up different services. The contributors combine experience in organising, researching, evaluating and providing out-of-hours care, and offer practical advice, critical analysis and a political perspective. The book is an accessible and valuable contribution to this increasingly important aspect of healthcare. It is essential reading for all practitioners, managers and researchers in primary care, public health, Accident and Emergency departments, pharmacy, community nursing and ambulance services.