Market forces are driving a radical restructuring of health care delivery in the United States. At the same time, more and more people are living comparatively long lives with a variety of severe chronic health conditions. Many such people are concerned about the trend toward the creation of managed care systems because their need for frequent, often complex, medical services conflicts with managed care's desires to contain costs. The fear is that people with serious chronic disorders will be excluded from or underserved by the integrated health care delivery networks now emerging. Responding to a request from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, this book reflects the results of a workshop that focused on the following questions: Does the model of managed care or an integrated delivery system influence the types of interventions provided to patients with chronic conditions and the clinical and health status outcomes resulting from those interventions? If so, are these effects quantitatively and clinically significant, as compared to the effects that other variables (e.g., income, education, ethnicity) have on patient outcomes? If the type of health care delivery system appears to be related to patient care and outcomes, can specific organizational, financial, or other variables be identified that account for the relationships? If not, what type of research should be pursued to provide the information needed about the relationship between types of health care systems and the processes and outcomes of care provided to people with serious chronic conditions?

Health Care Finance: Basic Tools for Nonfinancial Managers, Fifth Edition is the most practical financial management text for those who need basic financial management knowledge and a better understanding of healthcare finance in particular. Using actual examples from hospitals, long-term care facilities, and home health agencies, this user-friendly text includes practical information for the nonfinancial manager charged with budgeting.

First published in 1989. In an aging society, however, the challenge broadens to include health care and social support at home and in the community. The major premise of this book is that cost-conscious community care and self-care will become increasingly important as the era of cost containment intensifies.

This Revised Reprint of our 8th edition, the "gold standard" in community health nursing, Public Health Nursing: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community, has been updated with a new Quality and Safety Education in Nursing (QSEN) appendix that features examples of incorporating knowledge, skills, and attitudes to improve quality and safety in community/public health nursing practice. As with the previous version, this text provides comprehensive and up-to-date content to keep you at the forefront of the ever-changing community health climate and prepare you for an effective nursing career. In addition to concepts and interventions for individuals, families, and communities, this text also incorporates real-life applications of the public nurse's role, Healthy People 2020 initiatives, new chapters on forensics and genomics, plus timely coverage of disaster management and important client populations such as pregnant teens, the homeless, immigrants, and more. Evidence-Based Practice boxes illustrate how the latest research findings apply to public/community health nursing.Separate chapters on disease outbreak investigation and disaster management describe the nurse's role in surveilling public health and managing these types of threats to public health.Separate unit on the public/community health nurse's role describes the different functions of the public/community health nurse within the community.Levels of Prevention boxes show how community/public health nurses deliver health care interventions at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention.What Do You Think?, Did You Know?, and How To? boxes use practical examples and critical thinking exercises to illustrate chapter content.The Cutting Edge highlights significant issues and new approaches to community-oriented nursing practice.Practice Application provides case studies with critical thinking questions.Separate chapters on community health initiatives thoroughly describe different approaches to promoting health among populations.Appendixes offer additional resources and key information, such as screening and assessment tools and clinical practice guidelines. NEW! Quality and Safety Education in Nursing (QSEN) appendix features examples of incorporating knowledge, skills, and attitudes to improve quality and safety in community/public health nursing practice.NEW! Linking Content to Practice boxes provide real-life applications for chapter content.NEW! Healthy People 2020 feature boxes highlight the goals and objectives for promoting health and wellness over the next decade.NEW! Forensic Nursing in the Community chapter focuses on the unique role of forensic nurses in public health and safety, interpersonal violence, mass violence, and disasters. NEW! Genomics in Public Health Nursing chapter includes a history of genetics and genomics and their impact on public/community health nursing care.

Healthcare economics is a topic of increasing importance due to the substantial changes that are expected to radically alter the way Americans obtain and finance healthcare. Understanding Healthcare Economics, 2nd Edition provides an evidence-based framework to help practitioners comprehend the changes already underway in our nation’s healthcare system. It presents important economic facts and explains the economic concepts needed to understand the implications of these facts. It also summarizes the results of recent empirical studies on access, cost, and quality problems in today’s healthcare system. The material is presented in two sections. Section 1 focuses on the healthcare access, cost and quality issues that create pressures for change in health policy. The first edition was completed just as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was debated and passed. This new edition updates the information about access, cost, and quality issues. It also discusses the pressure for change that led to the passage of the PPACA, evidence that shaped the construction of the act, evidence on the impacts of the PPACA, and evidence on the pressures for future changes. Section 2 focuses on changes that are underway including: changes in the Medicare payment system; new types of healthcare delivery organizations such as ACOs and patient-centered medical homes. It also discusses the current efforts to help patients build health such as wellness programs and disease management programs. And finally, health information technology will be discussed. The new edition will maintain the current structure; however each chapter will be updated to discuss post-PPACA evidence on each type of type. In addition to the updates previously mentioned, the authors will present a series of data explorations to several chapters. Most of the new data explorations present summarized statistical information based on de-identified data from one hospital electronic data system. These data explorations serve two purposes. First, they illustrate the impacts of the pressures for change – and some of the changes – on healthcare providers. For example, the data illustrates the financial impact of pre-PPACA uncompensated care. Second, explanation of the data will require explanations of standard coding systems that are used nationwide (DRGs, CPT, ICD) codes. Other data explorations provide detail about other sources of data useful for health policy analysis, and for healthcare providers and insurers.

This book provides a scholarly discussion of arguably the most important advance in U.S. public health services since Medicare 50 years ago - how the Federal program known as the Patient Care and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) or "Obamacare" became law. It addresses ACA in terms of its impact on improving health and behavioural health services for key diverse populations in America, including people with disabilities, consumers, women, racial and ethnic minorities, and veterans and their families. From the very beginning, ACA was controversial and the topic of heated political debate at both state and national levels. This book examines more closely how the legislation was developed, including the political history of the act; the many advocacy efforts at the national level and the community-based action strategies at the grassroots level; how ACA will affect a broad cross-section of America; the integration of health and behavioural health services as a key component of ACA; the financing of ACA and parity for behavioural health services. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation.

Many hospitals and health care organizations that were independent, freestanding institutions are now part of large health systems that deliver patient care in a variety of inpatient, ambulatory, and community settings. Vast changes in the U.S. health care system are reshaping how librarians provide services to physicians and other patient caregivers, as well as to medical and allied health sciences students and faculty. Twenty one experts have contributed to this groundbreaking text. Their individual chapters offer specific, practical advice on administrative issues, planning and marketing, financial management, space planning, collection development, cataloging and classification, document delivery, audiovisual services -- every aspect of managing today's ever-changing health care library. Required reading for any librarian offering health care information to professionals, faculty, or consumers.

Hospitals and health systems are facing many challenges, including shrinking reimbursements and the need to improve patient safety and quality. A growing number of healthcare organizations are turning to the Lean management system as an alternative to traditional cost cutting and layoffs. "Kaizen," which is translated from Japanese as "good change" or "change for the better," is a core pillar of the Lean strategy for today’s best healthcare organizations. Kaizen is a powerful approach for creating a continuously learning and continuously improving organizations. A Kaizen culture leads to everyday actions that improve patient care and create better workplaces, while improving the organization’s long-term bottom line. The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen is the perfect introduction to executives and leaders who want to create and support this culture of continuous improvement. The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen is an introduction to kaizen principles and an overview of the leadership behaviors and mindsets required to create a kaizen culture or a culture of continuous improvement. The book is specifically written for busy C-level executives, vice presidents, directors, and managers who need to understand the power of this methodology. The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen shares real and practical examples and stories from leading healthcare organizations, including Franciscan St. Francis Health System, located in Indiana. Franciscan St. Francis’ employees and physicians have implemented and documented 4,000 Kaizen improvements each of the last three years, resulting in millions of dollars in hard savings and softer benefits for patients and staff. Chapters cover topics such as the need for Kaizen, different types of Kaizen (including Rapid Improvement Events and daily Kaizen), creating a Kaizen culture, practical methods for facilitating Kaizen improvements, the role of senior leaders and other leaders in Kaizen, and creating an organization-wide Kaizen program. The book contains a new introduction by Gary Kaplan, MD, CEO of Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, which was named "Hospital of the Decade" in 2012. The Executive Guide to Healthcare Kaizen is a companion book to the larger book Healthcare Kaizen: Engaging Front-Line Staff in Sustainable Continuous Improvements (2012). Healthcare Kaizen is a longer, more complete "how to" guide that includes over 200 full color images, including over 100 real kaizen examples from various health systems around the world. Healthcare Kaizen was named a recipient of the prestigious Shingo Professional Publication and Research Award. Check out what the experts at the Franciscan St. Francis Health System have to say about Healthcare Kaizen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcGmP5gLEPo&feature=c4-overview&list=UU7jiTxn4nkMzOE5eTbf0Upw