US and UK Health Care Systems

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses modern health care systems in general and compares a the health systems of the United States and the United Kingdom in particular. By doing so, the author is also able to compare the pros and cons of providing universal health care, allowing free market behavior to dictate cost and price of services as well as the application and effectiveness of government intervention and controls.

Outline:
US Health Care System
UK Health Care System
Analysis and Comparison
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"As the world's leader in medical research and technology, there is a common and high expectation that the health care system in the US to be of the same standard or status. The US is the only member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), commonly establishing the standards for social and economic development that does not provide universal health care. However, there are a number of federal services that provide extensive protection of identified key sectors such as Medicare, Veterans' Health Administration Services, State Children's Health Insurance Program and TRICARE. Thus, the US government is not only a health service provider but also the country's largest health insurer. At the same time, the US provides one of the largest networks of public hospitals and emergency health response systems in urban areas. Universal access to health care may vary between states and there has been some effort to establish a universal health care system (Montreal Economic Institute, 2005)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arah, O. A., Klazinga, N. S., Delnoij, D. M. J., Ten Asbroek, A. H. A. and Custers, T. (2003). Conceptual frameworks for health systems performance: a quest for effectiveness, quality, and improvement. Int. J. Qual. Health Care, Oct 2003; 15: 377 - 398.
• Barry, M.M., Allegrante, J.P., Lamarre, M.C., Auld, M.E., Taub, A. (2009). The Galway Consensus Conference: international collaboration on the development of core competencies for health promotion and health education. Glob Health Promotion, Jun;16(2):5-11.
• Cribb, Alan (2008). Organizational Reform and Health-care Goods: Concerns about Marketization in the UK NHS. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Advance, 33: 221-240.
• Davis, K., Schoen, C., Schoenbaum, S. C., Doty, M. M., Holmgren, A. L., Kriss, J. L. and Shea, K. K. (2007). Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: An International Update on the Comparative Performance of American Health Care. New York: The Commonwealth Fund
• Fiander, Matthew, Burns, Tom, Mchugo, Gregory J. And Drake, Robert E. (2003). Assertive community treatment across the Atlantic: comparison of model fidelity in the UK and USA. The British Journal of Psychiatry, Mar 2003; 182: 248 - 254.

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