Description

The United States has a health care system with two
faces. The first face is a famous one - the country
is known for its constant advancements in health care
technology and state of the art research in health
care-related disciplines. The other face is an
infamous one - the system is ill-famed for its record
number of people without health insurance, its
skyrocketing health care expenditures as well as the
deteriorating health of its population. This book
intends to take a close look at this unique social
system and analyze current trends that move it
forward. When looking at trends, special emphasis is
laid upon the movement around consumer-driven health
care, which has become extremely popular among
private health care providers in recent years and now
features regularly in policies by the current
administration. The mind shift from treating
patients to providing services to consumer has
come a long way in a country that strives to be known
as a place where all areas of life are subjected to
the efficient forces of free markets and consumer demand.