非文學類
更新日期:
2016-08-31
Reinventing American Health Care
Ezekiel J. Emanuel
Public Affairs
March 2015
400pp
書籍編號:
03-9159
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● 內文簡介

★ 亞馬遜網路書店 暢銷書榜 政府與商業類 No.5


《重建美國醫療體系》(Reinventing American Health Care)是一部關於美國醫療體系及其變革的真實故事,曾任美國白宮醫療改革顧問的Ezekiel J. Emanuel,將帶領讀者們一窺該制度的起因、後果,以及令人匪夷所思的各種現象。

書中特別強調健保制度的革新與重塑,在探討美國醫療制度改革的同時,也讓享有全民健保制度的台灣讀者們反思,該如何更有效、妥善的運用手邊豐富的醫療資源。

提及美國的醫療系統,總脫離不了下列幾個形容──無比複雜的流程(Terribly Complex)、公然的霸王條款(Blatantly Unjust)、昂貴的離譜(Outrageously Expensive )、毫無效率可言(Grossly Inefficient),而且錯誤百出(Error Prone)。

相信上述的每個形容詞,字字戳中大家的痛處,讓任何曾在美國有過醫療經驗的人們心痛萬分。而日益高昂的醫療保費,也讓越來越多人無力負擔醫藥費用,成為美國嚴重的隱患。

為了一掃存在於醫療體系的各種弊病,美國政府正積極的改變現狀,醫療改革如火如荼的展開:2010年3月由歐巴馬政府推動的「病人保護與可負擔醫療法案」(Affordable Care Act 簡稱: ACA)正式在國會中通過。此法案是自1965年美國醫療保險制度制定以來,最大的一次醫療改革。

然而,此法案存在著許多的爭議性,朝野上下充斥著許多不同的聲音,其中當然引發不同黨派之間的角力。與此同時,該法案的合法性也面臨挑戰,期間不僅需要最高法院進行判決,甚至一度癱瘓了美國政府機構的運作。原因是,醫療保健事業佔美國就業市場中最大的一部分,光是醫療事業所產生的經濟值,就高達法國整體的GDP總額。由此可見此法案對於美國社會的影響力。

作者Ezekiel J. Emanuel是賓夕法尼亞大學的教授,主要研究醫療倫理與公共衛生等專業領域,他也曾是美國白宮醫療制度改革的特別顧問。他在最新著作《重建美國醫療體系》當中,將要從歷史、政治等多個面向,深入的探討醫療改革對於美國社會和諧的影響,並講述一百多年來,美國歷代總統如何為醫療改革,左右為難、焦頭爛額。書中他也向大家解釋現階段的醫療改革ACA法案將如何重塑美國的醫療系統,並且大膽的預測醫療體系未來發展的六大趨勢。

《重建美國醫療體系》以充足的事實根據、獨特的分析,與大膽的預測,詳細、廣泛,且深入的探討美國的醫療制度,以及這項極具爭議性的重大改革。

 

● 作者簡介

Ezekiel J. Emanuel 賓夕法尼亞大學全球集思論壇所副所長,以及醫學倫理與公共衛生學院院長。2009-2011年期間曾任美國白宮醫療改革特別顧問。曾發表超過250篇科學期刊論文,以及多本關於醫學的著作。現為《紐約時報》、《華爾街日報》的專欄作家,以及《共和國周刊》的特約編輯,同時他也經常在電視節目上,為一般大眾講解關於醫療方面的知識。

 

● 媒體報導

“Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, they’re well argued, and he has marshaled an impressive amount of information.”—Washington Post

“Infused with diagrams, charts, and tables, this book is informative, thought-provoking, and immensely important. Given his role in the program, and as is reflected in the subtitle of the book, Emanuel clearly wants to persuade, but he also wants to explain. And because he was an insider — and proves himself a gifted writer — he makes an able guide to the complexities of the landmark legislation… Clearly, if Obamacare is to fulfill its promise there will need to be significant changes and that will require collaboration among citizens, health care professionals, scholars, and lawmakers from across the political spectrum. And the only way this can happen is if people understand what exactly is at stake. ‘Reinventing American Health Care’ spells this out clearly, and by doing so, lays the foundation for this kind of collaboration to occur.”—Dennis Rosen, Boston Globe

“The author, who serves as a special White House adviser on health care reform, is optimistic that its glitches will be resolved within the year and that it will transform how patients are cared for over the coming decades…He offers an insider’s account of some of the infighting that occurred within the Obama administration…The author takes a long view of the reforms beginning with incentives and penalties for the adoption of uniform electronic health records in the 2009 Recovery Act…An important challenge to the naysayers on both sides of the political divide.”–Kirkus Reviews

“Prominent bioethicist Emanuel makes a convincing, albeit onesided, case for overhauling what he sees as an unfair health system in the U.S. Deftly using numbers to make his arguments, Emanuel organizes his book into three parts: the current system (largely its financing), health-care reform (the nearly 1,000-page Affordable Care Act [ACA] and legal challenges to it), and the future (lots of hospital closings) …He also touches on important history (the creation of Medicare in 1965) and clearly explains complicated issues…A plain-English explanation of a tricky topic.”–Booklist

“Few people have had a more favorable influence on the shaping of the current processes of health care reform than Zeke Emanuel has. And no one is a better, clearer, or wiser interpreter of the insanely complex non-system that we are trying to fix. This book is an instant classic—mandatory reading for anyone who wants to know how we got where we are in American health care and where we need to go.” —Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, president emeritus and senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services