"I enjoyed leafing through this collection, and seeing some of the 'modern classics' in the sociology of health excerpted - the excerpts being almost impossibly brief, although understandably so. It is good for academic-jockeys to lead practitioner-horses to the edge of heady intellectual waters- as long as they don't end up the infamous creek without a paddle. Enough mixed metaphors... I enjoyed it - really." Calum Paton, Professor of Health Policy, Keele University, UK"This book introduces the reader to many of the most important debates in health policy today through a judicious selection of contributions from a range of disciplines. It will be invaluable in helping students find their way in to a diverse and complex field of study, and should also whet their appetites to go to the sources to explore these debates in greater depth." Chris Ham, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham, UK"This book shows the great benefits of expert selection of the best writings on the subject. Our starting point for the future is what we inherit - the ideas and structures from the past. This book shows us how we got here, and the choices for the future. In an age of Kindle and downlodable PDFs, this selection of the best in one place is invaluable to researchers, practitioners, and leaders of learning programmes. We are shaped by history, but unknowingly. Knowing our history, can free us from it. We can build on the best and avoid repeating old mistakes." Dr John Ovretveit, Director of Research and Professor of Health Innovation and Evaluation, Medical Management Centre, The Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden"The authors have collected a good range of papers with some going back to establishment of the NHS and others drawing on healthcare in other countries to provide comparison and contrast. A few of the articles will be familiar to anyone engaged in formal learning about healthcare, but there is plenty of new material and the favourites sit well with the more unfamiliar work. All of the papers are of high standard and the reader will need to pay attention to get the most from them – there's no 'Healthcare for Dummies' here." Andrew Palmer, Student, Queens University Belfast, UKThis reader offers instant access to fifty classic and original readings in health policy and management. Compiled by experts, the editors introduce a framework setting out the key policy drivers and policy levers, giving a conceptual framework that provides context for each piece.Ten key themes are covered that are relevant to managers and practitioners working in healthcare systems throughout the world and reflect much of the content of postgraduate programmes in health policy and management. These are: The role of the state in healthcare The policy making process The allocation and distribution of resources Markets and choice in healthcare Accountability and regulation Quality and safety General management and governance Evidence based health policy and management The social context of health Cultural critiques of formalised healthcare systems Each section containing a set of readings has an introduction and a summary of key points, references and further reading so readers can explore areas of interest in more depth. A Reader in Health Policy and Management is an ideal companion text to Healthcare Management (edited by Kieran Walshe and Judith Smith) and is key reading for postgraduate students, managers, leaders and clinicians working in healthcare. It will also be of interest to those working in partnership with healthcare organisations and located in the public sector, independent and voluntary sectors.

Table of Contents:
General introduction Part one: The role of the State in healthcare (Editor Ann Mahon) 1Social Insurance and Allied Services 2The New Politics of the NHS 3The Social Transformation of American Medicine: the rise of a sovereign profession and the making of a vast industry 4Securing our future: taking a long-term view Part two: The policy making process (Editor Naomi Chambers) 5Street-Level Bureaucracy and the Analysis of Urban Reform 6Designing Health Service Organisation in the UK, 1968-1998 7Why Britain is reorganizing its health service - yet again 8The interplay between economic and political logics Part three: The allocation and distribution of resources (Editor Kieran Walshe) 9Equity and equality in health and healthcare. 10Explicit and implicit rationing: taking responsibility and avoiding blame for health care choices 11The development of health technology assessment 12Economics, QALYs and medical ethics: a health economist’s perspective. 13Resource allocation to health authorities: the quest for an equitable formula in Britain and Sweden Part four: Markets and choice in healthcare (Editor Naomi Chambers) 14Reflections on the management of the National Health Service: An American Looks at Incentives to Efficiency in Health Services Management in the UK 15Patient choice and patient empowerment in northern European health systems: a conceptual framework. 16The Right to Give in The Gift Relationship: From Human Blood to Social Policy 17Links between governance, incentives and outcomes: a review of the literature NCCSDO 18Giving Consumers of British Public Services More Choice: What can be learned from recent history? Part five: Accountability and regulation (Editor Kieran Walshe) 19The audit society: second thoughts. 20Regulation of government: has it increased, is it increasing, should it be diminished? 21External assessment of health care. 22Social regulation of healthcare organisations in the United States: developing a framework for evaluation 23The role of regulation in quality improvement 24What is measured is what matters: targets and gaming in the English public healthcare system Part six: Quality and safety (Editor Kieran Walshe) 25The quality of care: how can it be assessed? 26Continuous improvement as an ideal in healthcare 27A primer on leading the improvement of systems. 28Error in medicine 29Evaluation of quality improvement programmes Part seven: General management and governance (Editor Naomi Chambers) 30Administrative Behaviour Rationality in Human Behaviour 31The Fish Rots from the Head 32Report of the NHS Management Enquiry 33The Governance of Public and Non-Profit Organisations 34Shaping Strategic Change 35Why do we keep on meeting like this? The board as ritual in health and social care Part eight: Evidence based policy and management 36Effectiveness and efficiency: random reflections on health services. 37On the need for evidence based medicine 38Grey zones of clinical practice: some limits to evidence based medicine. 39Evidence based management: from theory to practice in healthcare 40Is there such a thing as evidence based management? Part nine: The social context of health (Editor Ann Mahon) 41Report from the Poor Law Commissioners on an inquiry into Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain 42The Inverse Care Law 43Declaration of Alma Ata (1978) International Conference on Primary Health Care, Alma Ata, USSR, 6-12 September. 44Report of a Research Working Group Inequalities in Health 45A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians 46Securing good health for the whole population. Part ten: Cultural critiques of formalised healthcare systems (Editor Ann Mahon) 47Hippocratic Oaths 48Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. 49Limits to Medicine. Medical Nemesis: The Expropriation of Health 50The Unmasking of Medicine 51Medicine Matters after all