Healthcare crisis overview

[chipaev]

Hi All,

I'm a premedical student trying to get handle on the causes, characteristics, and possible solutions to the healthcare crisis. Could anyone recommend a good book/website that provides a good summary? I read newspapers and the NEJM and although I understand some concepts, the articles are usually about specific problems that I don't really have any background on. I tried searching SDN and the closest thing I got was what seemed to be a $50 textbook (Health Care USA). If that's the best thing out there then I wouldn't mind reading through it but I'd prefer something more casual rather than another thing that I need to study .

Thanks for the help.

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[Isoprop]

Hi All,

I'm a premedical student trying to get handle on the causes, characteristics, and possible solutions to the healthcare crisis. Could anyone recommend a good book/website that provides a good summary? I read newspapers and the NEJM and although I understand some concepts, the articles are usually about specific problems that I don't really have any background on. I tried searching SDN and the closest thing I got was what seemed to be a $50 textbook (Health Care USA). If that's the best thing out there then I wouldn't mind reading through it but I'd prefer something more casual rather than another thing that I need to study .

Thanks for the help.

The best textbook is -
Understanding Health Policy: A clinical approach by Bodenheimer and Grumbach

Unbiased overview of how health care policy works, its history, and a discussion at the end on a national health policy

A primer on wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_reform_in_the_United_States

Some terms that are thrown around and misused.
Socialized medicine - strictly speaking, this means a publicly funded system though it's really an empty term. avoid using it.
Universal health care - health care provided to everyone, which can be publicly or privately funded
Single payer system - A single "insurer" pays for all services and negotiates a global budget for hospitals. Hypothetically, this can be a private fund, but the payer is always a tax-financed government plan. See Canada.

 

[jamesmartyn]

The Information Cure - Solving the Healthcare Crisis Systematically through Integrated Healthcare Management.... I think this the book is gonna useful to you...

 

[gloriacollins]

http://www.realtruth.org/articles/090203-005-health.html

Check this... Hope this may help....

 

[MedMusclez]

http://www.realtruth.org/articles/090203-005-health.html

Check this... Hope this may help....

This seemed really straight forward, non-biased and informative until the last four paragraphs. 2.5 out of 4 gold stars.