Health Care Policies
Helpm31990
9781284151619_SLID_CH01.ppt
Chapter 1
Understanding the Role of and Conceptualizing Health Policy and Law
Chapter Overview
- Describes why it is important to include policy and law in the study of health care and public health
- Discusses the vast influence of policy and law in health care and public health
- Describes three ways to conceptualize health policy and law
The Role of Policy and Law in Health Care and Public Health
(1 of 2)
- Federal and state policy and law shape virtually all aspects of the healthcare system, from structure and organization, to service delivery, to financing, to administrative and judicial oversight.
- Topics include advertising and marketing of health services and products, healthcare contracting, employment issues, patents, taxation, healthcare discrimination and disparities, consumer protection, bioterrorism, health insurance, prescription drug regulation, and more.
- Choices made by policymakers and decisions handed down through the judicial system influence how we approach, experience, analyze, and research all of these and other specific aspects of the healthcare system.
The Role of Policy and Law in Health Care and Public Health
(2 of 2)
- Policy and law have also long played a seminal role in everyday public health activities as well as in many historic public health accomplishments.
- One main focus of policy and law in the realm of public health is on locating the appropriate balance between public regulation of private individuals and corporations and the ability of those same parties to exercise rights that allow them to function free of overly intrusive government intervention.
- The competing interests at the heart of public health are mainly addressed through two type of policies and laws: those that define the functions and powers of public health agencies and those that aim to directly protect and promote health.
Conceptualizing Health Policy
and Law
(1 of 4)
- There are multiple ways to conceptualize the many important topics that fall under the umbrella of health policy and law.
- Three conceptual frameworks: one premised on the broad topical domains of health policy and law, one based on prevailing historical factors, and one focused on the individuals and entities impacted by a particular policy or legal determination
Conceptualizing Health Policy
and Law
(2 of 4)
- The first domain is reserved for policy and law concerns in the area of health care, another for issues arising in the public health arena, and the last for controversies in the field of bioethics.
Conceptualizing Health Policy
and Law
(3 of 4)
- A second way to consider health policy and law is in historical terms, based on the social, political, and economic views that dominate a particular era.
- Considered this way, health policy and law have been influenced over time by three perspectives: professional autonomy, social contract, and free market.
Conceptualizing Health Policy
and Law
(4 of 4)
- A third way to conceptualize health policy and law issues is in terms of the stakeholders whose interests are impacted by certain policy choices or by the passage or interpretation of a law.
- Patients, healthcare providers, governments, the public, managed care and traditional insurance companies, employers, the pharmaceutical industry, the medical device industry, the research community, interest groups, and others all may have a strong interest in various policies or laws under debate.
