United States Health Care System, The

Anne Austin received her B.A. in English from the University of Delaware, her Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina, and her J.D. (cum laude) from Case Western Reserve University. Austin has taught business classes for over 30 years at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Since 1995 she has been employed at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville, where she helped to design the Medical Office Management program. Currently, she is the Vice Chancellor of Research, Planning and Assessment. In that position she supervises Information Services, Institutional Research, and the Office of the Registrar. Her primary responsibilities include institutional strategic planning and assessment. She has been actively involved in the college’s accreditation process with the Higher Learning Commission, where she acts as a peer reviewer for institutions on the new Open Pathway. Victoria Wetle began her healthcare career in 1964 in clinical nursing; she worked on the Albert Starr Open Heart team and as a charge nurse for the first Intensive Care Unit in Portland, Oregon. Wetle earned both a Master’s and Doctorate degree at Oregon State University and subsequently initiated the Health Services Management Program at Chemeketa Community College. She was awarded a Fellowship at London University, Balfour College and studied at the Kennedy School of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington DC. She was the Clinical coordinator, H1N1 flu vaccine program, Yamhill County Public Health, in 2009. Currently, Wetle is a volunteer with the US Medical Reserve Corp, Yamhill County, Oregon. Her major interests include biomedical ethics, global health care, traditional health care systems and health care resource allocation. Publications include:   Bloodborne Pathogens, Administrative Manual for Healthcare Managers, 1994, Boston, Jones and Bartlett and Solving The Puzzles in Medical Terminology, 1997, Boston, Jones and Bartlett. She is president of Wetle & Associates, a healthcare consulting company.

• PART ONE: OVERVIEW AND PAYMENT 1. Health and Care in America 2. The Business Side of Health Care 3. The Payment Process: Insurance and Third-Party Payers 4. The Payment Process: Government Payment Programs PART TWO: EMPLOYMENT IN HEALTH CARE 5. Health Care Providers: Physicians and Nurses 6. Other Clinical and Non-Clinical Health Care Providers PART THREE: THE DELIVERY SYSTEMS 7. Offices, Clinics, and Hospitals 8. Aging in America 9. Mental Health Services: A Combination of Systems 10. The Public Health System: The Government's Role PART FOUR: HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY AND ISSUES 11. Medical Technology, Pharmaceuticals, and Pharmacological Research 12. Health Care Research and Prevention 13. Cultural Competency, Health Literacy, and Health Care Ethics 14. International Health Care