Getting Health Reform Right: A Guide to Improving Performance and Equity

by Marc J. Roberts, William Hsiao, Peter Berman

This book presents a new multi-disciplinary framework for developing and analyzing health sector reform plans in a wide variety of national circumstances. By focusing on the health care system as a means to an end, the authors provide tools and techniques for designing reforms that will
produce real improvements in health sector performance. Integrating economic analysis, political strategy, managerial considerations, and ethical concerns, they offer practical guidance for dealing with the many difficult challenges of health sector reform.
The book's methods and approach are based on the authors' extensive experience as researchers, advisors, and teachers of health care reform around the world. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, they stress the need for each nation to develop plans that are consistent with its
administrative capacities, economic circumstances, political realities, and social values. The first half of the book reviews general methods for defining problems in an ethically self-reflexive way, diagnosing the causes of those problems, developing relevant policies, and marshalling political
support. The second half examines five health sector reform "control knobs" - arenas in which government can act to improve the performance of the health system. Each control knob - financing, payment, organization, regulation, and behavior - is extensively discussed to inform readers about
available options and the lessons of international experience.
This book draws together an exceptionally wide range of analytical methods and practical experience, and fills a major gap in the literature on health reform and health systems for lower and middle-income nations. It will be of value to policymakers, administrators, consultants, academics, and
students alike.

Genres: Health Care, Nonfiction, Politics, Health, Medicine

352 pages, Hardcover

First published October 11, 2003

About the author

Marc J. Roberts is professor of political economy at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Reviews

[Ahmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب خوبیه. هر چند بد و غیر روان ترجمه شده، اما دید خوبی می‌ده.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the better policy books I've ever read. It was a bit dry at times, but it was interesting, balanced and original throughout. The wealth of knowledge and expertise was outstanding; the authors offer useful examples of health reforms from different countries on every page.

They manage to provide both analysis that is dispassionate and balanced, but also useful policy recommendations. Each chapter has several well-reasoned policy recommendations.

It is interesting throughout, a rarity for policy books. The second half of the book might actually be better and more useful than the first. I particularly enjoyed the chapters on Financing, Payment and Behavior.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in health policymaking. All that being said, this is more toolkit than interesting for its own sake; I would only recommend it to someone interesting in health policymaking.

I will bring it with me to Abidjan.