This fully updated and revised 11th edition of a highly esteemed survey and analysis of health care delivery in the U.S. keeps pace with the rapid changes that are reshaping our system. Fundamentally, this new edition presents the realities that impact our nation's achievement of the so-called Triple Aim: better health and better care at a lower cost. It addresses challenges and responses to the Accountable Care Act, the implementation of Obamacare, and many new models of care designed to replace outmoded systems. Contributions by leading scholars, practitioners, and educators within population health and medical care present the most up-to-date evidence-based information on health disparities, vulnerable populations, and immigrant health; nursing workforce challenges; new information technology; preventative medicine; emerging approaches to control health care costs, and much more.

Designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students of health care management and administration and public health, the text addresses all of the complex core issues surrounding our health care system in a strikingly readable and accessible format. Contributors provide an in-depth and objective appraisal of why and how we organize health care the way we do, the enormous impact of health-related behaviours on the structure, function, and cost of the health care delivery system, and other emerging and recurrent issues in health policy, health care management, and public health.

The 11th edition features the writings of such luminaries as Michael Gusmanno, Carolyn Clancy, Joanne Spetz, Nirav Shah, Sherry Glied, Michael Sparer, and Christy LeMak, among others. Chapters include key words, learning objectives and competencies, discussion questions, case studies, and additional resources. Included for instructors is a Manual, Power Point Slides, Syllabus, Test Bank, Image Bank, Supplemental e-chapter on the ACA, and a transition guide bridging the 10th and 11th editions.

New to the Eleventh Edition:

Comprehensive coverage of the ACA and its impact on each aspect of the U.S. health care system woven throughout the book
The implementation of Obamacare
Combines acute and chronic care into organizations of medical care
Nursing workforce challenges
Health disparities, vulnerable populations, and immigrant health
New models of care including ACOs, Patient Homes, Health Exchanges, and Integrated Health Systems
Strategies to achieve the Triple Aim (better health and better care at lower cost)
Emerging societal efforts toward creating healthy environments and illness prevention
Increasing incentives for efficiency and better quality of care
Multiple new charts and tables with concrete health care data
Expanded discussion of information technology
A new five-year trend forecast
Supplementary e-chapter with ACA updates