This volume presents a comprehensive overview of the current rural health environment by sorting topics into coverage of the demand for rural health, the supply of resources (facilities and personnel), the broad application of technology, and the roles of government policies and rural sociology. A major purpose is to guide those involved in decision making and planning to insure continued provision of health care for rural residents. A unique feature is the integration of innovative approaches throughout the work; there is a recognition that several rural institutions are undergoing transition and that fresh approaches are critical.

This work will be of interest to scholars, policy-makers, and practitioners in rural health care, health care facilities, and health care management.

Straub and Walzer have assembled a well-balanced collection of articles by experts in the field of health care, beginning with two which explore the changing populations and economies of rural areas. Successive chapters explain issues such as recent developments in home patient care, cost-saving innovations, and the pros and cons of rural HMOs. Of special note are those essays which project the future of health care and provide alternative approaches to health care services such as the viability of the rural hospital in the future; progressive non-hospital options; and ways to maximize resources in the years to come. Since this detailed work investigates the major facets of the struggling rural health care system, it will prove valuable not only to health care officials, but also to health care and social science faculty, and to state and local officials whose understanding of health care issues directly affects their policy making.