Resources

Agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) collect, analyze, and publish a wide variety of health statistics that describe and measure the operation and effectiveness of the American health care system. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, tracks nationwide health trends and reports its findings in several periodicals, especially its Advance Data series, National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Reports, and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) provides a complete statistical overview of the nation's health in its annual Health, United States.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide definitions, epidemiological data, and research findings about a comprehensive range of medical and public health subjects. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) monitors the nation's health spending. The agency's quarterly Health Care Financing Review and annual Data Compendium provide complete information on health care spending, particularly allocations for Medicare and Medicaid. The Administration on Aging (AoA) provides information about the health, welfare, and services available for older Americans.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) researches and documents access to health care, quality of care, and efforts to control health care costs. It also examines the safety of health care services and ways to prevent medical errors. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) are accrediting organizations that focus attention on institutional health care providers including the managed care industry.

The Bureau of the Census, in its Current Population Reports series, details the status of insurance among selected American households.

Medical, public health, and nursing journals offer a wealth of health care system information and research findings. The studies cited in this edition are drawn from a range of professional publications including the Journal of the American Medical Association, Annals of Internal Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, Health Affairs, American Journal of Managed Care, and Journal of Nursing Administration.

Thomson Gale thanks the Gallup Organization and Harris Interactive/The Harris Poll for the use of its public opinion research about employer-sponsored health plans and accessing health information online. We also express appreciation to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for permission to use information from its OECD Health Data 2004 (Paris, France, 2004). We are grateful to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation for permission to use information from its many fine reports, including 2001 Kaiser Women's Health Survey—Women's Health in the United States: Health Coverage and Access to Care (Menlo Park, CA: 2004), Kaiser Health Poll Report 2004, and Kaiser Health Poll Report 2003. Our thanks also go to the many professional associations, voluntary medical organizations, and foundations dedicated to research, education, and advocacy about efforts to reform and improve the health care system that were included in this edition.