Customer Reviews

Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The book is a good basic introduction to the American health care system. If you are doing advanced health policy research this book is not for you. If you are teaching a class for undergraduates (or are someone who wants to know about 'nuts and bolts' issues) this would be perfect. For what it does (basic intro), it does well but do not look for sophisticated analysis here.

Almost every class has a textbook, and almost every professor assures his or her students that his or class' particular textbook is worth buying. Rarely is this true. In the case of Shi & Singh's book, though, I actually agree.

I bought this book for the first course that I took on the U.S. healthcare system. I was skeptical but Shi & Singh quickly won me over with their excellent writing, which presents the material in quick, readable fashion and stays relevent and fresh throughout.

Some might see "bias" here, because the authors are quite clear from the start that the U.S. healthcare "system"--I use the quotes because one thing that this text makes clear is that America has no system at all--is fundamentally flawed. To me, that is not bias, because it is a point on which virtually everyone agrees. Moreover, while Shi & Singh do advocate for the creation of a true system, they do not limit their approach to one model. It is when one contrasts Singapore's true-market model with Britain's pure-national model that one comes to grasp how bizarre and nonsensical the American approach to healthcare really is, a solution that satisfies no one and does little if anything efficiently from either a market or a social perspective.

I came to Amazon.com today to sell back my books from this semester. The others have been posted. Shi & Singh's Delivering Health Care, however, is a rare example of a text that will be staying on my shelf. I recommend this book to everyone interested in understanding healthcare in America.

This is one of the worst text books I have ever used for a course. The content is dense and difficult.
Chapters are not well outlined and don't follow sequence provided in text.

Too many inconsistencies in the data and materials. Chapter 12, page 524 says that the HEDIS quality review has 56 measures, the glossary says 71. This is only one of many I identified. I spotted far too many grammatical errors, incomplete sentences and more for a 3rd Edition book.

It is more than obvious that some updates have occured in certain sections but have not been rolled throughout the entire text. This textbook is in dire need of an overhaul and condensing. Major points are diluted with it's over-complicated verbiage, poor flow and lack of comprehensive outline.

We're using this text in an intro to health care delivery for an MPH program. While I don't disagree with the authors and their bend toward a different health care system, I must say that the text often seems biased. The criticism of a medical treatment model is clear, but few disadvantages of MCOs have been as forthright. It seems to me that the job of textbooks should be to present the facts, or at least disguise the authors' preferences a little...for ex, the text clearly paints a picture of the AMA's role in manipulating the health delivery system in favor of higher status for a medical model and the perpetuation of doctors' power and prestige, then a few chapters later portrays the current system as a reflection of American culture and values. Seems that the system is a reflection of the power of the AMA, mostly upper class white men, than a reflection of me or America.

Poorly written and highly un-edited. The authors make strong and slanted statements throughout the book, stating things as factual rather than the opinions they truly are. There is little citation of research references when there certainly should be. Poor, poor quality text book.

This is a fasinating overview of the very fracture health care delivery system (not really a system) in America. Everybody needs to read this so they can eduate themselves on obtaining the best health one can receive.

This textbook is actually a requirement for my MPH program, and I found the content agreeable and not dry; it's an easy read. And to be honest, I never quite had a firm grasp about the inner workings of the U.S. healthcare system until reading this book. I do, however, detect anti-AMA/anti-physician undertones from the authors...

I took a summer class which used this book. It was interesting and very easy reading. If one works in the health field like I do, it reminded me of some issues and gave me other issues to think about. I would recommend it to a person who wanted a good overview of healthcare in the US, compared to other countries. The charts were easy to understand and the book was not full of charts and graphs that were unnecessary.

I was very pleased with this item. The book was described as slightly used, like new... and that's exactly how I found it to be upon arrival. I saved money and would order from this seller again.

This book was in the condition described. The package came within only a few days of purchasing it. Very fast!