Health care in Canada : a citizen's guide to policy and politics /

Health care in Canada : a citizen's guide to policy and politics /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Fierlbeck, Katherine.
Imprint:Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2011.
Description:xvii, 382 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Language:English
Subject:
Medical care -- Canada.
Medical policy -- Canada.
Medical policy.
Delivery of Health Care -- Canada.
Health Policy -- Canada.
Health Services -- Canada.
Medical care.
Medical policy.
Canada.
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/8539801
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:9781442640030 (bound : alk. paper)
1442640030 (bound : alk. paper)
9781442609839 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1442609834 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Notes:Includes bibliographical references (p. [341]-367) and index.
Summary:"Health Care in Canada examines the challenges faced by the Canadian health care system, a subject of much public debate. In this book Katherine Fierlbeck provides an in-depth discussion of how health care decisions are shaped by politics and why there is so much disagreement over how to fix the system.
Many Canadians point to health care as a source of national pride; others are highly critical of the system's shortcomings and call for major reform. Yet meaningful debate cannot occur without an understanding of how the system actually operates. In this overview, Fierlbeck outlines the basic framework of the health care system with reference to specific areas such as administration and governance, public health, human resources, drugs and drug policy, and mental health. She also discusses alternative models in other countries such as Britain, the United States, and France. As health care becomes increasingly complex, it is crucial that Canadians have a solid grasp of the main issues within both the policy and political environments. With its balanced and accessible assessment of the main political and theoretical debates, Health Care in Canada is an essential guide for anyone with a stake in Canada's health system."--pub. desc.
Review by Choice Review

This excellent volume features important, accessible, accurate, and well-reasoned material to assist readers in understanding the Canadian health care system, as well as other similar systems. Besides providing current information, it is sensitive to the nuances of what goes into making public policy: policy choices, constraints, strategies, values, costs, trade-offs, institutions, and interests. Fierlbeck (political science, Dalhousie Univ.) is clear about the complexity of such systems and their resistance to change. The audience for this volume is at times unclear. The first six chapters provide excellent summaries, for the general reader, of the Canadian system and its political, legal, and structural aspects. Following these is a 50-page chapter on drug policy, which is interesting for an expert but highly complex and detailed. Also included are three chapters on similar systems in Europe and the United States, for comparison. Health Care in Canada features good charts, detailed explanations, and a superb bibliography and glossary. It is a very important, up-to-date resource for all who are interested in the Canadian system, comparative systems, and the details of health policy and politics. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. P. LeClerc St. Lawrence University

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review

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