Building a High-Value Health System

Countries and institutions worldwide face the challenge of planning and paying for health care that effectively meets the needs of citizens and employees. While there are many criticisms of existing healthcare models, current literature offers little guidance for individuals who want to carry out the work of redesigning and improving their health system. Using a step-by-step format, Building a High-Value Health System systematically provides analytical tools and functional skills for designing and implementing a health system that fits a population's needs. Active, learner-directed methods teach readers how to assess the needs of a population, analyze the performance of a health system, assess available capacity, and develop system design options that are feasible within this context. The book then describes the strategies through which change agents can implement and sustain these systems in the future. Through global case studies and detailed guidance, Building a High-Value Health System prepares readers to analyze and understand their own health system and take actions to build a better one.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments 1. Introduction to the Health of a Population 2. Assessing the Health System of a Country 3. How Did We Get Here? Historical Megatrends in Health and Medical Care 4. Developing a Vision and Goals 5. Developing Plans for Change: A Framework for Designing a High-Value Health System 6. Testing the Change, Improving the Plan 7. Insights From Systems Thinking 8. Implementing a Change--Adoption and Diffusion 9. So What? Who Cares? The Wrap-Up References Index

About the Author :
Rifat Atun, MBBS, MBA, DIC, FRCGP, FFPH, FRCP, is Professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard University and Faculty Chair of the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program. Dr. Atun has advised over thirty governments on health policy and consulted for the World Bank, WHO, and other leading global organizations. He is a member of the Longitude Prize Committee and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, the Faculty of Public Health, and the Royal College of General Practitioners. Gordon Moore, MD, MPH, is a primary care doctor and Professor of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. He was a founding member of Harvard Community Health Plan, the country's first academically sponsored HMO, and the creator of New Pathway, a new curriculum at Harvard Medical School that has become a worldwide model for medical education.

Review :
Atun and Moore have created a unique 'workbook' that goes well beyond the typical textbook to reach health system learners at all levels. Employing systems thinking and case study methods while avoiding jargon, Building a High-Value Health System will be a pleasure to use for anyone committed to creating health services that are effective, efficient, equitable, and responsive.