Provides a diverse, multi-faceted approach to health care evaluation and management

The U.S. Health Care System: Origins, Organization and Opportunities provides a comprehensive introduction and resource for understanding healthcare management in the United States. It brings together the many "moving parts" of this large and varied system to provide both a bird's-eye view as well as relevant details of the complex mechanisms at work. By focusing on stakeholders and their interests, this book analyzes the value propositions of the buyers and sellers of healthcare products and services along with the interests of patients.

The book begins with a presentation of frameworks for understanding the structure of the healthcare system and its dynamic stakeholder inter-relationships. The chapters that follow each begin with their social and historical origins, so the reader can fully appreciate how that area evolved. The next sections on each topic describe the current environment and opportunities for improvement.

Throughout, the learning objectives focus on three areas: frameworks for understanding issues, essential factual knowledge, and resources to keep the reader keep up to date.

Healthcare is a rapidly evolving field, due to the regulatory and business environments as well as the advance of science. To keep the content current, online updates are provided at: healthcareinsights.md. This website also offers a weekday blog of important/interesting news and teaching notes/class discussion suggestions for instructors who use the book as a text.

The U.S. Health Care System: Origins, Organization and Opportunities is an ideal textbook for healthcare courses in MBA, MPH, MHA, and public policy/administration programs. In piloting the content, over the past several years the author has successfully used drafts of chapters in his Healthcare Systems course for MBA and MPH students at Northwestern University. The book is also useful for novice or seasoned suppliers, payers and providers who work across the healthcare field and want a wider or deeper understanding of the entire system.

JOEL I. SHALOWITZ, MD, MBA, FACP, was Clinical Professor and Director of the Health Industry Management Program at the Kellogg School of Management for 28 years. In addition to practicing internal medicine, he has also been on Northwestern's Feinberg Medical School's faculty for more than 35 years, most recently as Professor of Preventive Medicine. He teaches and consults internationally, was the recipient of three Fulbright awards, and is currently a Senior Fellow at ETLA (the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy) and an Affiliate Professor at the Institute of Management of the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa.

"The U.S. Healthcare System: Origins, Organization and Opportunities is a tour de force--a must-use textbook for those seeking to solve the problems of the U.S. healthcare system. It discusses each of the major stakeholders in an accessible, detailed and authoritative voice, and presents a compelling framework for understanding how they function.

Coupled with Professor Shalowitz's weekly blog which discusses current healthcare issues, this book will make for the lively, informed discussions that students of U.S. healthcare have been looking for."

- Dr. Regina Herzlinger, Ph.D.

"This remarkably well-documented text provides important information and knowledge about the U.S. healthcare system within the context of historical developments and interpretative frameworks. The chapter on Managerial Epidemiology distinguishes [the book] from many other texts in the field, and there are particularly strong chapters on Payers, Technology, and Information Technology. The text will help readers understand and navigate the complexity of the U.S. healthcare system, why it has developed the way that it has, and some of the implications for its future evolution."

- Dr. Stephen Shortell

"To anyone who wants to really understand the U.S. healthcare system, Dr. Shalowitz's book is a 'must-read.' Having participated in the healthcare industry for 40 years, this is the first time I have found a book that is comprehensive, factual and well-written."

- Harry Kraemer, Clinical Professor of Leadership at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University