Reforming Health Care The Philosophy and Practice of International Health Reform

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 SeedhouseFortress NHS: A Philosophical Review of the National Health Service1994Practical Medical Ethics David Seedhouse and Lisetta Lovett1992Liberating Medicine1991Changing Ideas in Health Care Edited by David Seedhouse and Alan Cribb1989Ethics: The Heart of Health Care1988Health: The Foundations for Achievement1986Health Care Analysis: Journal of Health Philosophy and Policy Edited by David Seedhouse Published QuarterlySeedhouse, David is the author of 'Reforming Health Care The Philosophy and Practice of International Health Reform' with ISBN 9780471953258 and ISBN 0471953253.