Introduction

Increased concern in the 1960s about the quality and availability of health care in the United States prompted a variety of attempts to develop new policies and to modify the existing health care system. The authors of this book review some of those attempts and provide critical commentary on a broad range of new and continuing problems.

Overview of the Health Care System

Their succinct review of many vital aspects of the current health care system clearly demonstrates the successes and failures of health care policy and its impact on the overall system.

Key Topics Discussed

The authors discuss consumer involvement in the health care system, the development of neighborhood health clinics, health maintenance organizations and health systems agencies, veterans' medical care, chiropractic, the use of non-physicians in care, changing ideologies among physicians, and the impact of health education.

Analytical Perspectives

A variety of analytical perspectives are used to evaluate the many issues raised, ranging from a highly critical Marxist commentary on fundamental flaws in the U.S. health system to a pluralist analysis of how the current system might be made to work better.