Quality care of patients requires evaluating large amounts of data at the right time and place and in the correct context. With the advent of electronic health records, data warehouses now provide information at the point of care and facilitate a continuous learning environment in which lessons learned can provide updates to clinical, administrative, and financial processes. Given the advancement of the information tools and techniques of today's knowledge economy, utilizing these resources are imperative for effective healthcare. Thus, the principles of Knowledge Management (KM) are now essential for quality healthcare management.

The Healthcare Knowledge Management Primer explores and explains essential KM principles in healthcare settings in an introductory and easy to understand fashion. This concise book is ideal for both students and professionals who need to learn more about key aspects of the KM field as it pertains to effecting superior healthcare delivery. It provides readers with an understanding of approaches to KM by examining the purpose and nature of its key components and demystifies the KM field by explaining in an accessible manner the key concepts of KM tools, strategies and techniques, and their benefits to contemporary healthcare organizations.

Quality care of patients requires evaluating large amounts of data at the right time and place and in the correct context. With the advent of electronic health records, data warehouses now provide information at the point of care and facilitate a continuous learning environment in which lessons learned can provide updates to clinical, administrative, and financial processes. Given the advancement of the information tools and techniques of today s knowledge economy, utilizing these resources are imperative for effective healthcare. Thus, the principles of Knowledge Management (KM) are now essential for quality healthcare management.

The Healthcare Knowledge Management Primer explores and explains essential KM principles in healthcare settings in an introductory and easy to understand fashion. This concise book is ideal for both students and professionals who need to learn more about key aspects of the KM field as it pertains to effecting superior healthcare delivery. It provides readers with an understanding of approaches to KM by examining the purpose and nature of its key components and demystifies the KM field by explaining in an accessible manner the key concepts of KM tools, strategies and techniques, and their benefits to contemporary healthcare organizations.

The U.S. health care system faces well-known problems: 47 million people without health insurance, rapidly rising costs that consume 16 percent of the country's economic output, and widely uneven quality of care. Even many people with coverage are experiencing serious problems paying for the rapidly rising costs of health care and insurance.This book - a joint product of the National Academy of Public Administration and the National Academy of Social Science - undertakes a sweeping analysis of the management and administrative issues that arise in expanding health care coverage. The book identifies the core administrative functions that need to be performed in assuring access to health coverage, describes how these functions are performed at present and under proposed alternatives, draws lessons from experience in the U.S. and abroad, and assesses suggested administrative approaches designed to facilitate the improvement and expansion of health care coverage.Adequate health care is one of today's most crucial domestic policy concerns. "Expanding Access to Health Care" is designed to bring together in one place some of the best thinking on the subject, not as an exercise in advocacy, but rather to lay out the issues in a balanced way so that policymakers, researchers, and citizens can better understand the complex details of health care reform.

This book examines the current social crisis in American medicine. The authors, two well-known sociologists, search out--and find--the roots of this crisis in three areas: the organization of the hospital, the attitudes of the hospital toward its patients, and the relationship of hospitals to one another.

Rosengren and Lefton apply the latest theories of organization to each of these areas and give special attention to the urgent need for more and better organization of medical care as well as to new ways of delivering it. In doing so they carry out a sociological examination of today's hospital that is of far broader scope than has been achieved until now.

By combining a summary of sociological research on hospitals with a new theoretical approach to relevant patterns of organization the authors make available a readable book of immediate usefulness not only to researchers and scholars but also to students and teachers in medical sociology, hospital administration, and community organization as well as in social science courses offered in medical schools and schools of nursing.

"William R. Rosengren" is emeritus professor of sociology. He has been a Senior Research Fulbright Scholar at Aberdeen Medical School and a research sociologist at a children's psychiatric hospital. He has published numerous scholarly articles and is co-editor and a contributor to "Organizational Membership."

"Mark Lefton" was professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Case Western Reserve University. He has headed research projects for the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Institute of Mental Health. Co-author of "Women after Treatment," he has co-edited and contributed to several books in related fields.

This book examines the design of two care pathways to establish how key principles associated with systems thinking, quality improvement, and supply chain management can improve the design of these services. 'Lean' has typically been the prominent approach when improving the design of healthcare systems and is often selected by healthcare professionals to standardize and improve the delivery of care. Previous literature shows there has been varying success in the application of 'Lean', the author presents a study which examines the benefits of introducing 'Agile' as an alternative and complementary approach. Improving Healthcare Operations explores when 'Lean' and 'Agile' are most applicable, and instances where a hybrid approach can be employed. Including empirical qualitative data collected from two care pathways, it intends to provide organizations with an alternative in order to produce the level and quality of care that is expected by patients.

Financing Medicine brings together a collection of essays dealing with the financing of medical care in Britain since the mid-eighteenth century, with a view to addressing two major issues:

• Why did the funding of the British health system develop in the way it did?
• What were the ramifications of these arrangements for the nature and extent of health care before the NHS?

The book also goes on to explore the 'lessons' and legacies of the past which bear upon developments under the NHS.

The contributors to this volume provide a sustained and detailed examination of the model of health care which preceded the NHS - an organization whose distinctive features hold such fascination for the scholars of health systems - and their insights illuminate current debates on the future of the NHS.

For students and scholars of the history of medicine, this will prove essential reading.

Governments throughout the industrialized world make decisions that fundamentally affect the quality and accessibility of medical care. In the United States, despite the absence of universal health insurance, these decisions have great influence on the practice of medicine.

In "Medical Governance," David Weimer explores an alternative regulatory approach to medical care based on the delegation of decisions about the allocation of scarce medical resources to private nonprofit organizations. He investigates the specific development of rules for the U.S. organ transplant system and details the conversion of a voluntary network of transplant centers to one private rulemaker: the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN).

As the case unfolds, Weimer demonstrates that the OPTN is more efficient, nimble, and better at making evidence-based decisions than a public agency; and the OPTN also protects accountability and the public interest more than private for-profit organizations. Weimer addresses similar governance arrangements as they could apply to other areas of medicine, including medical records and the control of Medicare expenditures, making this timely and useful case study a valuable resource for debates over restructuring the U.S. health care system.

A fundamental problem of public sector governance relates to the very way of thinking it reflects; where organization is thought of as a 'thing', a system designed to deliver what its designers choose. This volume questions that way of thinking and takes a perspective in which organizations are complex responsive processes of relating between people. Bringing together the work of participants on the Doctor of Management program at Hertfordshire University, this book focuses on the move to marketization and managerialism, paying particular attention to human relationships and group dynamics. The contributors provide narrative accounts of their work addressing questions of management, pressures, accountability, responsiveness and traditional systems perspectives. In considering such questions in terms of their daily experience, they explore how the perspective of complex responsive processes assists them in making sense of experience and developing practice. Including an editors' commentary which introduces and contextualizes these experiences as well as drawing out key themes for further research, this book will be of value to academics, students and practitioners looking for reflective accounts of real life experiences rather than further prescriptions of what organizational life ought to be.

A fundamental problem of public sector governance relates to the very way of thinking it reflects; where organization is thought of as a 'thing', a system designed to deliver what its designers choose. This volume questions that way of thinking and takes a perspective in which organizations are complex responsive processes of relating between people. Bringing together the work of participants on the Doctor of Management program at Hertfordshire University, this book focuses on the move to marketization and managerialism, paying particular attention to human relationships and group dynamics. The contributors provide narrative accounts of their work addressing questions of management, pressures, accountability, responsiveness and traditional systems perspectives. In considering such questions in terms of their daily experience, they explore how the perspective of complex responsive processes assists them in making sense of experience and developing practice. Including an editors' commentary which introduces and contextualizes these experiences as well as drawing out key themes for further research, this book will be of value to academics, students and practitioners looking for reflective accounts of real life experiences rather than further prescriptions of what organizational life ought to be.

This unique text is the first to explore leadership in the context of healthcare systems across Europe. It investigates leadership and management learning against the backdrop of increasing European parliamentary influence, the expansion of EU membership, and the increasing number of patients, staff, governments and healthcare employers viewing Europe as a single market for healthcare provision and employment.

Written by leading authority Neil Goodwin, this timely book provides an assessment of the literature as well as practical guidance for developing personal leadership. It includes case studies and examples and is a must-buy for all students studying health management, leadership and public management as well as professionals within health services across Europe.

This is the fourth text in the Routledge Health Management Series.

Employment relations within the health sector have undergone radical reform over recent years. This book is an important new study that examines the responses of managers and workers to these different reforms, at both national and local level. Bringing together analyses of both employment relations and public sector management, the book focuses on understanding why certain initiatives have been adopted, how managers have responded to them and the consequences of the HR modernisation agenda. Topics covered include: HR strategy and structure at the workplace employee involvement and union influence pay modernisation management of work. Featuring detailed case study research in three NHS trusts, the book illustrates precisely how government policies are implemented in the workplace and in doing so offers a unique insight into the sector's changing work environment. A comprehensive study of atopical area, this book will be of interest to students and academics in health service management, human resource management and employment relations.

For more than a century, New York City's public hospitals have played a major role in ensuring that people of every class had a place to turn for care. A comparison of the history of Bellevue Hospital with that of the private New York Hospital illuminates the unique contribution that public hospitals have made to the city and confirms their continued value today. This book is set against the rich economic, cultural and political backdrop of new York City, which played an important role in the fortunes of both hospitals.

Statistics and evidence-based medicine are assessed in most postgraduate and undergraduate medical examinations and degrees in health sciences. All clinicians have to acquire skills in this area. This book aims to provide a brief overview of basic medical statistics and the numerical aspects of evidence-based medicine to give realistic worked examples to illustrate the interpretation of studies relevant to clinical practice and to allow examination practice. It aims to cover all major topics covered in the undergraduate and postgraduate examinations. Each chapter begins with an overview and summary of the main points followed by worked examples and exercises with full answers. It will be ideal for all postgraduate medical examination candidates. Other clincians and undergraduate students in medicine and health sciences will also find it useful.

The second edition of this very successful 'how to do it' book on clinical governance. * The second edition of this successful book now includes more detail on NICE, CHI and other government initiatives * Expanded to include information appropriate for the whole of the UK * Completely updated in line with recent changes in the NHS * Additional examples of good practice from primary care and other specialties

"A well organized and readable text on evaluating health programs. It covers the essentials of choosing an evaluation design, planning and conducting the evaluation, and using the results of the evaluation. It is a book that should be on the shelf of persons doing and teaching health program evaluation and should be seriously considered as a text for evaluation classes."

? RONALD ANDERSEN, Wasserman Professor in Health Services, UCLA"I found many instances where I thought students would get key concepts and ideas more quickly than they would from other texts. I was thrilled to see a discussion of ethics and culture in the text! The author provides clear explanations of important concepts and uses examples throughout the text, a strength of the book. I especially appreciate the author's detailed descriptions of program models and how they can be used in Chapter 3."

? ROBIN LIN MILLER, University of Illinois at Chicago

"This book is useful because it keeps the main concepts of program evaluation in an easy-to-follow format. The way the parts of a program evaluation were put together to resemble the parts of a play allowed me to review familiar material in detail, but at the same time remind me of the structure of an evaluation. This was useful for me to reintegrate, as sometimes when one is involved in particular "scenes" of an evaluation, they lose sight of the "act" or the "play." It gave me a great reminder of the big picture."

University of Alabama, BirminghamAs more and more money is spent developing programs and services to solve health problems, how can one know if a specific health program works or what it would take to improve it? Aimed at addressing this issue, The Practice of Health Program Evaluation provides readers with the methods to evaluate health programs and the expertise to navigate the political terrain so as to work more effectively with decision makers and other groups. To convey these principles, Grembowski uses the metaphor of evaluation being a three-act play with a variety of actors and interest groups, each having a role that involves entering and exiting the "stage" at different points in the evaluation process. The first section (Act I) shows evaluators how to work with decision makers and other groups to define the question they want answered about a program and how to develop evaluation questions. Act II covers the methods for selecting among one or more evaluation designs (experimental and quasi-experimental designs, program implementation, sample size, measurement, and cost-effectiveness analysis) to answer questions about the program. And, Act III covers the use of the answers, including methods for developing formal dissemination plans, factors that influence whether evaluation findings are used or not, and major challenges facing the discipline in the next decade. Through the use of relevant examples and the explanation of each step, this book will enable readers to apply research methods in the practice of health evaluation.

"Misadventures in Health Care: Inside Stories" presents an alternative approach to attributing the cause of medical error solely to the health care provider. That alternative, the systems approach, pursues why an incident occurs in terms of factors in the context of care that affect the care provider to induce an error. The basis for this approach is the fact that an error is an act, an act is behavior, and behavior is a function of the person interacting with the environment. Eleven vignettes illustrate the importance of the systems approach by describing health care incidents from the perspective of the care providers--the perspective that can identify the factors that actually affect the provider. These stories provide general readers with opportunities to apply their knowledge in analyzing incidents to identify error-inducing factors.
This book is important reading for policymakers, researchers and practitioners in law and in all medical specialties, and professionals in the social sciences, human factors, and engineering. In addition to sensitizing the reader to the importance of contextual factors in error, "Misadventures in Health Care" is a case study reference to supplement texts in professional schools such as law and medicine, as well as the full range of academic disciplines. It also is important reading for the general public because it presents an approach for addressing a very pressing social problem-- that of misadventures in health care.

Misadventures in Health Care: Inside Stories presents an alternative approach to attributing the cause of medical error solely to the health care provider. That alternative, the systems approach, pursues why an incident occurs in terms of factors in the context of care that affect the care provider to induce an error. The basis for this approach is the fact that an error is an act, an act is behavior, and behavior is a function of the person interacting with the environment. Eleven vignettes illustrate the importance of the systems approach by describing health care incidents from the perspective of the care providers--the perspective that can identify the factors that actually affect the provider. These stories provide general readers with opportunities to apply their knowledge in analyzing incidents to identify error-inducing factors. This book is important reading for policymakers, researchers and practitioners in law and in all medical specialties, and professionals in the social sciences, human factors, and engineering. In addition to sensitizing the reader to the importance of contextual factors in error, Misadventures in Health Care is a case study reference to supplement texts in professional schools such as law and medicine, as well as the full range of academic disciplines. It also is important reading for the general public because it presents an approach for addressing a very pressing social problem-- that of misadventures in health care.

This Reader includes material relevant to everyone involved in developing new relationships in health and social care. Alongside articles on social care as traditionally conceived, it offers articles from a wide variety of settings, including those in health and education. It brings together classic management texts and material with a management focus, providing a stimulating range of perspectives on the manager's role. In the management of something as complex as care, this must involve:
* listening to service users
* maintaining professional values
* enabling participation
* facilitating learning.
The Managing Care Reader reflects these imperatives as it focuses in on the experience of being in the front line. In four parts, it looks at how managers experience what they do, their managerial responsibilities, the key professional issues, and the importance of the organisational environment. It offers a rich resource for all those undertaking management courses or moving into frontline management roles in the new world of social care.

Chapter 1 offers an overview of the basic computer technology. Each succeeding chapter, describes the problems in medicine, followed by a review in chronological sequence of why and how computers were applied to try to meet these problems. Only the technical aspects of computer hardware, software, and communications are discussed as they are necessary to explain how the technology was applied. This approach generally led to defining the objectives for applications of medical informatics. At the end of each chapter, the author summarizes his personal views and interpretations of the chapter contents. Although the concurrent evolution of medical informatics in Canada, Europe, and Japan certainly influenced workers in the United States, the scope of this historical review is limited to the development of medical informatics within the United States. Furthermore, this review is limited to electronic digital computers; it excludes mechanical, analog, and hybrid computers.

In 1977 the average American spent $755 per year on health care, most physicians functioned as independent practitioners, and only 5.6 million people under the age of 65 were enrolled in HMOs. Twenty years later, per capita expenditures had more than tripled, most physicians practiced within a managed care environment, and HMO enrollment stood at 62 million. Keeping pace with these and other changes in the U.S. health system has been the job of the National Medical Expenditure Surveys (NMES). Since they were first started in the 1970s, these federal government surveys have defined our basic understanding of how individuals and families use and pay for America's health care systems and have directly influenced national policy changes, health care reform, and cost-control strategies.

Informing American Health Care Policy is the definitive resource that analyzes the overall effect of the National Medical Expenditure Surveys. This important edited collection is written by an outstanding panel of experts from a variety of disciplines and includes contributions from nationally known economists, sociologists, and survey researchers. Rich in insights and lessons learned, Informing American Health Care Policy
Offers a critical assessment and a discerning overview of NMES' outcomes
Describes how the design strategies and methods evolved over the past two decades
Provides a detailed discussion about the collection of a wide range of data on health insurance and employment status
Addresses troublesome issues in defining and measuring access in vulnerable populations
Summarizes the multiple and complex issues of survey design, population sampling, and analytical method
Demonstrates the indispensability of NMES data in the health reform debates

The contributors examine how the current health care environment reflects the successes and failures of previous research and makes recommendations on how to adapt survey research to be more effective in the future.

The Important Lessons Learned from the National Medical Expenditure Surveys

Informing American Health Care Policy provides a critical perspective on the National Medical Expenditure Surveys (NMES) and how these surveys have responded to the sometimes conflicting challenges of policy and research. Sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research and written by a stellar panel of interdisciplinary experts including contributions from nationally known economists, sociologists, and survey researchers, this essential resource is filled with lessons learned and emerging strategies for the future.

"I enjoyed reading this book. Thanks to the major investment in health expenditure and insurance surveys and the increasingly sophisticated analytic capacity described in this volume, policy officials now have a much more precise and up-to-date understanding of the implications of policy choices."--Karen Davis, president, The Commonwealth Fund; developed President Carter's 1977 national health reform proposal

"In this important book, the lead researchers associated with NMES describe the development of this rich data source and, in a series of well-crafted papers, illustrate the use of these data in informing major areas of health policy. It is a must read for anyone interested in American health policy-especially for younger professionals entering this growing field."--Uwe E.Reinhardt, James Madison Professor of Political Economy, Princeton University

"National health expenditure surveys have provided policymakers with the information they need to make informed decisions. This volume tells us about the evolution and contributions of the federal government's most ambitious health care survey. I recommend it for those interested in improving the quality of data available to those who formulate policy."--John K. Iglehart, founding editor, Health Affairs

"Thoughtful and informed reflections on the lessons learned by NMES. Provides sound guidance and procedures required to address the enduring policy questions of Who's covered? Who pays?, and How much? in the emerging U.S. health care environment of the future."--Lu Ann Aday, professor of behavioral sciences and management and policy sciences, the University of Texas School of Public Health; and author, Designing and Conducting Health Surveys, Fourth Edition

Under managed care, health care has become a sometimes uneasy partnership between consumers, health care providers, and the communities they serve. Empowered by a broadly held understanding of medicine and an ability to collect and use performance information to improve health services, this alliance is reshaping our local health systems. In this constantly changing environment, competitive advantage will go to those physicians who are fast-and focused-in their ability to transform their practice into accountable, cooperative business units-reshaping society's expectations of medicine and ultimately improving the delivery of health care.

In The New Health Partners, physician Stephen Prather reveals how doctors can regain stewardship of their medical practices and strengthen their crucial role in the health care of their local communities. Prather?a nationally known physician consultant, educator, practitioner, and speaker--gives physicians effective techniques and practical advice needed to deliver bottom-line results.
Prather shows physicians, medical directors, and administrators how they can acquire the essential skills of leadership and team development for use in both office and community health settings. Step-by-step, Prather explains how to apply the transformative power of the "Six Dimensions of Health Systems" to integrate delivery of care, align economic and non-economic incentives, manage chronic illness, empower clinical groups, work with patients and their families, and redesign care for community benefit.

This groundbreaking book explores how to
A- Put in place successful methods for creating economic incentives to motivate physician change
A- Map outproven approaches for achieving clinical quality improvement and efficient office practices
A- Gain insight into a proven strategy for engaging the community in a rewarding partnership
A- Combine effective management principles, time-honored values, and useful guidelines for the most skillful use of performance data

The New Health Partners is based on the information gathered from in-depth organizational and marketplace assessments and surveys of physician-leaders from across the country. This vital resource also includes numerous examples of best practices that have proven to be easily reproducible, cost-effective, and beneficial to patients. This hands-on volume will prove to be an invaluable aid for any physician-leader who wants to work smarter and direct a health care organization to be ethically, clinically, and fiscally sound.

Discover t-he Six Dimensions of Health Systems That Can Transform Your Medical Practice

The New Health Partners is an essential handbook for physicians who want to reshape their practices to prosper within the managed care environment. This key resource offers a blueprint for helping physicians, medical directors, and administrators create the needed partnerships and cooperative business alliances, put in place the best practices that will maximize accountability, and, ultimately, achieve success in disease management.

"Steve Prather's book encapsulates the key forces in health care today. If followed, his practical solutions will dramatically change the way we organize and deliver care."--Henry G. Walker, president and CEO, Providence/Health System

"Prather has written a book full of helpful insights, tips, and examples for thosetrying to make sense of the leadership opportunity facing doctors today and tomorrow. His strategies and stories can help those who lead physician practice today and guide those who teach tomorrow's doctors."-Paul Batalden, professor and director, Health Care Improvement Leadership Development Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Dartmouth Medical School

"Using his vast experience and keen insight, Steve Prather presents exciting concepts and practices that will contribute greatly to the improvement of the delivery and quality of clinical care into the next millennium-a major concern for all health care leaders."-Dan S. Wilford, president, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System

"I urge the leaders of health care systems to read and study this enlightening book together. And, since integration, alignment, improvement, teamwork, and partnering are relevant activities at all levels of an organization, it would be wise for leaders to encourage and enable the many natural work groups in their organization to similarly study, digest, and adapt the rich knowledge available in [this book]. Doing so will produce a much more effective and competitive health care system."-From the foreword by James S. Roberts, senior vice president, physician leadership, VHA, Inc.

Risk management, assessment and reduction, alongside patient involvement, is an essential part of the current NHS reforms. This book draws together and summarises the latest information on risk in healthcare. It outlines the facts patients need and the level of involvement they require to make informed decisions, and emphasises the practical aspects of how practitioners can best explain risk. The first section of the book concentrates on defining risk and the factors influencing individuals as they make decisions about risk, and the latter part focuses on how clinical teams make decisions about organisational matters and the working environment. All health professionals, including doctors, nurses and managers throughout primary and secondary care will find it an essential reference.

This comprehensive, yet accessible, text demystifies the challenging area of competence assessement in medicine and the health sciences, providing a clear framework and the tools for anyone working or studying in this area. Written by a single, highly experienced, author, the content benefits from uniformity of style and is supported and enhanced by a range of pedagogic features including cases, questions and summaries. Essential reading for all students and practitioners of medical education, it will also be an invaluable guide for allied health professionals and psychologists with a general interest in assessment, evaluation and measurement and a useful library reference.

"E-Health Care Information Systems" is a comprehensive collection written by leading experts from a range of disciplines including medicine, health sciences, engineering, business information systems, general science, and computing technology. This easily followed text provides a theoretical framework with sound methodological approaches and is filled with numerous case examples. Topics include e-health records, e-public information systems, e-network and surveys, general and specific applications of e-health such as e-rehabilitation, e-medicine, e-homecare, e-diagnosis support systems, and e-health intelligence. "E-Health Care Information Systems" also covers strategies in e-health care technology management, e-security issues, and the impacts of e-technologies. In addition, this book reviews new and emerging technologies such as mobile health, virtual reality and nanotechnology, and harnessing the power of e-technologies for real-world applications.