Wiley Reforming Health Care: The Philosophy and Practice of International Health Reform

This superlative text applies philosophical analysis to the daily problems of health service policy and practice. Provides readers with an understanding of the practical detail and the theoretical fundamentals of health reform. From the Inside Flap Health reform has become a permanent feature of public debate. But all trends have their day, and any genuine reform process must come to an end. How will the ‘90s health reforms turn out? Will the public enjoy highly cost-effective health systems offering the best available health benefits? Or are the health reforms bound to fail? To study health reform it is essential to know what is actually happening to and within various health systems, and this volume includes comprehensive articles on health reform in the USA, the UK, Holland, South Africa, New Zealand and Eastern Europe. But to be aware of the facts alone is not enough. Philosophical questions must be addressed if health reform is to be explored in any depth. What, for instance, is health reform? What are—and what ought to be—the typical goals of the health reform process? And by what criteria are the success or failure of health reform to be assessed? Reforming Health Care offers the reader a grasp of both the practical detail and the theoretical fundamentals of health reform, and shows that it is only by understanding the logical structure of reform that burgeoning health reform initiatives can be properly managed. This is the seventh in a collection of books written or edited by David Seedhouse, each of which applies philosophical analysis to the everyday problems of health service policy and practice. Each book is of particular relevance to those who work in or are affected by modern health services. All are essential reading for medical and health professionals, nurses, health service researchers and policy-makers, as well as students of health and medical care who wish to explore the philosophical basis of practical health care. Also by David Seedhouse Fortress NHS: A Philosophical Review of the National Health Service 1994 Practical Medical Ethics David Seedhouse and Lisetta Lovett 1992 Liberating Medicine 1991 Changing Ideas in Health Care Edited by David Seedhouse and Alan Cribb 1989 Ethics: The Heart of Health Care 1988 Health: The Foundations for Achievement 1986 Health Care Analysis: Journal of Health Philosophy and Policy Edited by David Seedhouse Published Quarterly From the Back Cover Health reform has become a permanent feature of public debate. But all trends have their day, and any genuine reform process must come to an end. How will the ‘90s health reforms turn out? Will the public enjoy highly cost-effective health systems offering the best available health benefits? Or are the health reforms bound to fail? To study health reform it is essential to know what is actually happening to and within various health systems, and this volume includes comprehensive articles on health reform in the USA, the UK, Holland, South Africa, New Zealand and Eastern Europe. But to be aware of the facts alone is not enough. Philosophical questions must be addressed if health reform is to be explored in any depth. What, for instance, is health reform? What are—and what ought to be—the typical goals of the health reform process? And by what criteria are the success or failure of health reform to be assessed? Reforming Health Care offers the reader a grasp of both the practical detail and the theoretical fundamentals of health reform, and shows that it is only by understanding the logical structure of reform that burgeoning health reform initiatives can be properly managed. This is the seventh in a collection of books written or edited by David Seedhouse, each of which applies philosophical analysis to the everyday problems of health service policy and practice. Each book is of particular relevance to those who work in or are affected by modern health services. All are essential readi