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Effectiveness of the health care system The health care system includes all the key parts of the delivery of health care services. It includes how it is funded or paid for, how services are delivered, what services and benefits are provided, how the various parts are coordinated, and the what data and information is needed for it to function effectively as a system. It includes services provided by both public and private organizations. Some would argue that we really do not have a system. They would say that we have some things that are planned and other things that have grown up because of a variety of circumstances and that the parts or pieces don?t necessarily work logically or cost effectively or work at all for that matter. They might also say the way health care is organized is pretty confusing to patients and to those in the system. There is certainly some truth to this. It is also true that change is often incremental. Some parts of the system do work and certainly could work better. Many individuals are working on parts of the system and improving them and others are more focused on the big picture. There are many individuals and organizations involved. They include policy makers, program designers, clinicians, evaluators, consumers, and purchasers of care. Some wear public hats and others private hats. Public health has a very clear interest in supporting, in the public?s interest, efforts to improve how well the health care system works whether it is at the big picture or smaller picture level. Health Systems Planning plays a role in this process. Some of our activities are described in other places on this web site in regard to access and quality. Here we are more focused on work that is related to overall effectiveness and planning. Some of our work is concerned with assisting counties to claim more federal dollars for activities that help support the Medicaid program. Other activity is focused on health care facilities and assuring that they are needed and safe. Still other activity may focus on the need for data and information to help legislators, policy makers, and planners make good decisions. Consequently, HSP undertakes a variety of efforts to improve effectiveness of health care: |
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