Anyone have useful resources/links to understanding the U.S healthcare system?

[bozz]

To understand the basics

Wikipedia doesn't help much

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[Narmerguy]

What exactly are you trying to understand? There's a lot to it

And WHAT?! Wikipedia isn't much help That's a first. Ah well first time for everything I guess.

 

[87138]

To understand the basics

Wikipedia doesn't help much

Here's a good resource:

http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/index.html


Edit: This is more for relevant topics in medicine . . . for understanding its general structure (and the inherent flaws within) there are many books to look into. I wish I could remember the titles of the two books I checked out of the library, but I imagine searching "healthcare" in your library's database would turn up some good results.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Read "Complications" or "Better" by Atul Gwande (I think I might have butchered the name, but the tittles are correct.) Also, the end of Roy Porters "The Greatest Benefit to Mankind" is a good read, albeit long.

 

[Decicco]

Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Who-Killed-Health-Care-Consumer-Driven/dp/0071487808

 

[bozz]

Thanks guys. I guess I was talking more about the very basics: difference between HMOs and PPOs, things like that.

(I'm not American) I don't have a grasp of the basics so it's hard for me to follow current healthcare events. Online searches give current healthcare issues, which is awesome. But I find that I am confused because I don't understand how it all comes together. If someone could point me in the right direction -- maybe I'm searching in the wrong places. I'm thinking of going to the local library to find books on U.S' healthcare system. Perhaps I should invest in a "Healthcare for Dummies" book?

A very useful link I just found:

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18802

 

[Vania]

I've read Better by Atul Gawande, and it definitely got my mind into think mode. I feel like if I'm asked a rather open-ended question, I can comment somewhat intelligently based on my general knowledge.

Also, I watched Sicko (documentary by Michael Moore) the other night. I know lots of people don't like Michael Moore, so I don't plan on mentioning his opinions in interviews/essays, but he DOES make a point and give you some perspective on the healthcare situation here.

But to what extent should we understand the US healthcare system? And how opinionated should we be about a hypothetical solution at this point? Anyone asked interview questions about this in the past?

 

[UTnut]

Check out the book Understanding Health Policy by Thomas S. Bodenheimer. It covers just about anything you would ever want to know about the health care system while taking a neutral stance.

 

[cbrons]

yeah find yourself a good neutral source. A good heuristic is to see who the book pisses off. If it pisses off a lot of people within the profession, particularly doctors, then don't read it because its likely liberal garbage. On the other hand, if it pisses off mainstream Ph.Ds of sociology then don't read it either. Try to find something that pisses both sides off - then you know you've found a good solution. Now that I think about it, that's a good way to judge every issue.....

Invariably whatever you read will try swaying you toward one of the two main ideologies that are both doing a great job of destroying this country. The best book on the subject you could read would be one without a provocative title and void of emotion (appeal to emotion). It would be very bland and boring but its a better bet than a Michael Moore crock-u-mentary.

 

[Decicco]

yeah find yourself a good neutral source. A good heuristic is to see who the book pisses off. If it pisses off a lot of people within the profession, particularly doctors, then don't read it because its likely liberal garbage. On the other hand, if it pisses off mainstream Ph.Ds of sociology then don't read it either. Try to find something that pisses both sides off - then you know you've found a good solution. Now that I think about it, that's a good way to judge every issue.....

Invariably whatever you read will try swaying you toward one of the two main ideologies that are both doing a great job of destroying this country. The best book on the subject you could read would be one without a provocative title and void of emotion (appeal to emotion). It would be very bland and boring but its a better bet than a Michael Moore crock-u-mentary.

This book is praised on both sides and by the former AMA prez: http://www.amazon.com/Who-Killed-Health-Care-Consumer-Driven/dp/0071487808

READ:

“A brilliant analysis… A must-read.” – Bill George, Professor, Harvard Business School and Former CEO of Medtronic
“As it becomes more and more obvious to everyone that our current health care system is unsustainable, this is the book that had to be written.” – Daniel H. Johnson, Jr. MD, former president of the American Medical Association
“Regina Herzlinger’s ideas to tackle the crisis of the U.S. health care system are based on keen knowledge of the system’s existing difficulties along with insights that introduce the reader to new streamlined choices that have the potential of getting both quantity and cost under control.” – Joseph Kennedy, founder, chairman, and president, Citizens Energy Corporation, CEO, Citizens Health Care, former representative (D-Mass)
“Regina Herzlinger… offers a vision of the way things can be, should be, and will be sooner or later. The only question is: how long do we have to wait?” – Greg Scandlen, founder, Consumers for Health Choices

“Regi Herzlinger has brilliantly articulated a better way – embracing the principles of competition and innovation that cause every other sector of our economy to thrive. Discharging American health care from the ICU can only happen by putting individual Americans – not politicians and bureaucrats – back in charge of their health care decisioins.” – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla), M.D.

“Following on the heels of her landmark Market-Driven Health Care, Herzlinger lays it on the line with her expose of what many who work in the health care industry have felt in their gut. Now it is articulated in an entertaining and must-read portrayal, with you and me as the only way out.” – Dennis White, executive vice president for strategic development, National Business Coalition on Health

“A wonderful Orwellian romp through issues which carry a deadly irony. The killers of health care are, of course, the third parties, each of which has an itchy palm and a commitment to profit or power which exceeds the commitment to service, with each engaging the others within a politically shaped box. Rarely has the case for the public been made with so much force, foresight, and wit, and a better way forward shown so clearly.” – James F. Fries, MD, Professor of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

“You can practically hear the war chants as Professor Herzlinger sets out her view of what’s wrong with the health care system and how to fix it. You’d best read it so you can decide which side you will be on when the battle is joined.” – Paul Levy, CEO, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA

“Regina Herzlinger, the nation’s leading expert on consumer-driven health care, has given us a brilliant analysis of the flaws in our health care system and what it will take to get it back on track. Her latest book is a must-read.” – Bill George, Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School, Former CEO, Medtronic, and author of Authentic Leadership

“You don’t have to agree with her diagnosis and prescription for the U.S. health care system, but you do have to read her book. Once again, Professor Herzlinger has put together a well researched, well written, and very provocative blueprint for the future of health care.” Peter L. Slavin, MD, President, Massachusetts General Hospital

 

[martin41]

I took a class called "Intro to the US Healthcare System" and we used the following book:

http://books.google.com/books?id=4Y...rce=gbs_book_other_versions_r&cad=1_0#PPP1,M1

Its fairly neutral, and not particularly normative.

Be forewarned...I think the US health care system is one of the most complex topics I've ever studied.