1st Edition

Comprehensive Healthcare for the U.S. An Idealized Model

By William Roth Copyright 2010
    174 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
    by Productivity Press

    Three years in its creation, Comprehensive Healthcare for the U.S.: An Idealized Model brings together contributions from physicians, nurses, administrators, and social workers from around the globe to critically examine the mire of excellent technical quality and inefficient delivery that has become the United States healthcare system.

    Written by award-winning author William Roth, the book systematically explores the key elements that must be part of any comprehensive model. Roth examines facility network and staffing patterns. He looks at approaches to decision making, the financial model, the design of a universal information system, training/education, and malpractice policy. He then provides a discussion of how these challenges are dealt with by 12 other nations, all of which, according to the World Health Organization, rank higher than the U.S.in terms of services provided for citizens.

    Roth tackles the larger philosophical issues and their connection to the specifics without obscuring the discussion with excessive statistics. He systematically shreds the inflammatory political rhetoric that is often used to shut down intelligent debate. He explores what it might take to make comprehensive care available to all, ways to shift our focus to wellness and prevention, the overuse of and lack of incentive for providers in universal systems, though some form of universal care is necessary, as well as the key role that the private sector must play in any approach.

    From there, the author draws from the best to design an idealized model for comprehensive healthcare that would fit the unique requirements of the United States. Referenced and researched to satisfy the needs of policy professionals and sector administrators, the book is lucidly written so that it provides all stakeholders with a more complete grasp of the involved problems as well as of the proven solutions that can be put into place once we understand their value and their viability.

    A highly readable book on healthcare 
        that‘s well worth the reading:

    informative, insightful, and innovative

    • Disscuses whether healthcare is a right or a privilege
    • Provides essential information in an easy-to-read format that educates without burying readers in statistical data
    • Draws from the best healthcare innovations in other nations
    • Offers a comprehensive model for U.S. healthcare rather than just one or several pieces of such a model
    • Addresses major problems including cost, variances in access and quality of care, malpractice, competition, inadequate health records and access to information, lack of a preventative focus

     


    Chapter 1 Introduction
    The Challenge
    Dealing with the Weaknesses
    Reference
    Chapter 2 The Current US Healthcare "Mess"
    The Challenge
    Policy Issues
    Medicare
    Medicaid
    Veteran’s Administration
    Tricare
    SCHIP
    The Profit Motive
    Healthcare Insurance
    Cost of Prescription Drugs
    Cost of Medical Malpractice Insurance and Malpractice Suits
    People Not Doing Their Part and Taking Care of Themselves
    The Cost of Education for Healthcare Professionals
    References
    Chapter 3 Structure and Decision-Making Model in an Idealized Healthcare Network
    The Challenge
    France
    Key Features of the French System
    Italy
    Key Features of the Italian System
    Sweden
    Key Features of the Swedish System
    Finland
    Key Features of the Finnish System
    European Union
    Japan
    Key Features of the Japanese System
    An Idealized Structure for a US UHS
    UHS Governance System
    The National UHS Board of Directors
    Regional UHS Boards of Directors
    State UHS Boards of Directors
    Local UHS Boards of Directors
    UHS Administration System
    The National UHS Department of Healthcare Administration
    State UHS Departments of Healthcare Administration
    Local UHS Departments of Healthcare
    Administration47UHS Service Delivery
    Community Health Centers
    Specialized Clinics
    General Hospitals
    Regional Research, Teaching/Medical Hospitals
    Implementation
    References
    Chapter 4 Network Financial Model
    The Challenge
    France
    Key Features of the French System
    Germany
    Key Features of the German System
    Canada
    Key Features of the Canadian System
    Japan
    Key Features of the Japanese System
    Norway
    Key Features of the Norwegian System
    Interesting Comparisons
    An Idealized Finance System for a US UHS
    How the Necessary Monies Will Be Raised
    How the Money Will Be Spent
    Compensation for Healthcare Providers
    References
    Chapter 5 Network Universal Information System
    The Challenge
    Information Systems in Other Countries with UHS
    Canada
    Key Features of the Canadian UHS Approach to
    Information
    Great Britain
    Key Features of the British UHS Approach to Information
    Germany
    Key Features of the German UHS Approach to Information
    Spain
    Key Features of the Spanish UHS Approach to Information
    Sweden
    Key Features of the Swedish UHS Approach to Information
    Idealizing a UHS Information System for the United States
    Integration Is the Key
    Weaknesses of Our Current Approach
    US Focus on Individual Pieces of the Healthcare System
    Dealing with Information Needs of the UHS as a Whole
    Moving Forward
    Implementation
    References
    Chapter 6 Profession Education
    The Challenge
    Necessary Changes
    France
    Key Features of the French Healthcare Education System
    Italy
    Key Features of the Italian Healthcare Education System
    Denmark
    Key Features of the Danish Healthcare Education System
    Canada
    Key Features of the Canadian Healthcare
    Education System
    Japan
    Key Features of the Japanese Healthcare
    Education System
    Idealizing a UHS Healthcare Education System for the United States
    The Training of Physicians
    Paying for a Physician’s Education
    Training of Nurses and Therapists
    New Course Requirements
    References
    Chapter 7 Dealing with Malpractice
    The Challenge
    Outside Assistance
    Holding Down the Size of Rewards
    Eliminating the Need for Trials
    How Malpractice Is Handled in Other Countries
    Sweden
    Key Features of the Swedish Malpractice Insurance and Compensation System
    France
    Key Features of the French Malpractice Insurance and Compensation System
    Great Britain
    Key Features of the British Malpractice
    Insurance and Compensation System
    Japan
    Key Features of the Japanese Malpractice
    Insurance and Compensation System
    Similarities in the Countries Studied
    Back to the US
    Tort Reform
    Keeping Watch
    So, That’s It
    References
    Bibliography
    About the Author
    Index

    Biography

    William F. Roth, PhD, is currently a professor at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, where he teaches courses in strategic planning, organization design, and management theory. Previously he taught for sixteen years at DeSales University (Center Valley, Pennsylvania), where most of the research for this book was completed.

    … the book will help readers understand the current state of the US health care system, as well as the state of other countries to which the United States is often compared. … useful for policy makers as well as for graduate students in various health care and related fields. … the book provides a starting point for discussions about US health care reform without the emotional misrepresentations that are, unfortunately, a part of the debate about health care in this country.
    —Yvonne Ford, PhD, RN, CNOR, Western Michigan University, in AORN Journal,  Vol. 93, No. 2, Feb. 2011

    The book closes with recognition that although the idealized model is not likely to be fully implemented, it provides a standard by which to measure and shape health care reform in the US. The work is somewhat distinctive in the recent flood of books dealing with health care reform in that the author is not a health care specialist but a systems analyst.
    —C. L. Kammer, The College of Wooster, CHOICE, Vol. 47, No. 11, Aug. 2010