Cost-based, charge-based, and contractual payment systems

Sample

Michael Donnelly

In 1996 Major Donnelly was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, at the unusually young age of 35; the onset of this illness marked the beginning of a kind of torture beyond the scope of even the most rigorous military survival training. Betrayed by his body, eventually paralyzed and confined to a wheel-chair, he experienced another betrayal perhaps even more difficult to comprehend - betrayal by his country. For despite the fact that over 110,000 Desert Storm veterans are sick, many dying of mysterious cancers and neurological diseases, including more than ten times the normal incidence of ALS - and despite all evidence pointing to U.S. troops having been dosed by low levels of Iraqi nerve agents and exposed to chemical weapons' fallout - the Pentagon adamantly denies any connection between their illnesses and their service in the Gulf War. A first step has been taken toward justice for the tens of thousands of Desert Storm veterans who are suffering virtually in isolation, many without any medical or disability benefits, thanks largely to the testimony of the author before the House of Representatives in 1997. Major Donnelly believes the truth will be uncovered by the studies recommended by the House, as well as through stories like his own, and he fervently hopes that America can, at last, "get it right."

Sample

Ross Koppel and Suzanne Gordon

Each year, hospital-acquired infections, prescribing and treatment errors, lost documents and test reports, communication failures, and other problems have caused thousands of deaths in the United States, added millions of days to patients' hospital stays, and cost Americans tens of billions of dollars. Despite (and sometimes because of) new medical information technology and numerous well-intentioned initiatives to address these problems, threats to patient safety remain, and in some areas are on the rise. In First, Do Less Harm, twelve health care professionals and researchers plus two former patients look at patient safety from a variety of perspectives, finding many of the proposed solutions to be inadequate or impractical. Several contributors to this book attribute the failure to confront patient safety concerns to the influence of the "market model" on medicine and emphasize the need for hospital-wide teamwork and greater involvement from frontline workers (from janitors and aides to nurses and physicians) in planning, implementing, and evaluating effective safety initiatives.

Sample

Edward M. Spencer ... [et al

"This book begins by assessing the shortcomings of clinical ethics, business ethics, and professional ethics as a basis for solving problems that have emerged in health care delivery systems since the advent of managed care. Then the authors consider the meaning of the development of the HCO in our society as well as its present status. Finally, they describe the key elements for the successful implementation of a fully functioning health care organization ethics program and what it can mean to the patients and the community."--Jacket.

Sample

Philip D. Cooper, Karen M. Jones, John K. Wong

Alphabetical listing by authors of 617 articles published between 1979-1983. Intended for marketing and health care personnel. Entries give bibliographical information and annotation, as well as coded sequence number that indicates relevant marketing areas and health care settings. Coded health care marketing area and health care setting indexes.