Health Care Issues

Sites about health-related public policy and the provision of health care plans and services.

Sub-headings:

Medical Insurance

Services that inform consumers about obtaining and selecting medical coverage.

Patient's Rights

Information about what patients or those undergoing treatment should expect from a physician, caregiver or treatment center.

Physicans and Hospitals

Assistance in finding a doctor or healthcare provider.

Resources in this category:

Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy
http://www.academyhealth.org/

"The Academy was created to help ensure that research is translated effectively into decisions that improve our nation's health and health care. The Academy is both a national policy center for health affairs and a professional society for more than 3,200 researchers and over 100 affiliated organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad." The site has a database of current research projects, a career center, and information on publications. One section of the site is for members only and requires a password.

The Academy for International Health Studies
http://www.aihs.com/

"The Academy for International Health Studies is an educational and networking business organization, founded in 1993, to serve senior healthcare executives from multinational health industries: health plans, healthcare providers, medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies and information technology vendors. To promote cost-effective, high-quality healthcare, the Academy arranges trade and study missions for chief executive officers of American health care companies and presents the annual International Summit on Private Health Sector."

American Academy of Professional Coders
http://www.aapc.com/

"The American Academy of Professional Coders was founded in 1988 in an effort to raise the professional standard of medical coders by providing ongoing education, certification, networking, and recognition." This site has information on membership, training and education products, certification, networking, local chapters, the annual conference, and careers.

American Association of Health Plans
http://www.aahp.org/

"The nation's principal association of health plans, representing more than 1,000 plans that provide coverage for approximately 150 million Americans nationwide. Member plans include health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), other similar health plans and utilization review organizations (UROs)."

American Association of People With Disabilities
http://www.aapd-dc.org/

"We're a non-profit, non-partisan, cross-disability organization whose goals are unity, leadership and impact."

American College of Medical Practice Management
http://www.epracticemanagement.org/

This association is intended for managers in the medical field such as practice managers, medical staff affairs personnel, and physician relations directors. It offers continuing education and training toward certification in practice management as well as various publications to keep professionals abreast of the latest in practice management.

American Health Information Management Association
http://www.ahima.org/

"The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) is the dynamic professional association that represents more than 40,000 specially educated health information management professionals who work throughout the healthcare industry. Health information management professionals serve the healthcare industry and the public by managing, analyzing, and utilizing data vital for patient care -- and making it accessible to healthcare providers when it is needed most... AHIMA is also instrumental in developing industry standards, advocating relevant legislation, and providing education in health information." There's information here for professionals about certification, careers and colleges, events, publications, and state associations. The site also has a patient resource center, news clips, and details of their media and speaker services.

American Public Health Association
http://www.apha.org/

"The American Public Health Association (APHA) is the oldest and largest organization of public health professionals in the world, representing more than 50,000 members from over 50 occupations of public health. The Association and its members have been influencing policies and setting priorities in public health since 1872." This site provides membership information, an APHA publications catalog as well as information and excerpts from some of its publications, recent news releases, and a list of affiliates, caucuses, section and special interest groups. It also includes job openings, information about the international nutritional clearinghouse, links to other public health information sites, fact sheets and issues papers regarding legislative issues, and a link to the World Federation of Public Health Associations.

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
http://www.ashp.org/

"Founded in 1942, this is the premier professional association for hospital and other health-system pharmacists. The Association publishes the IPA database, the American Hospital Formulary Service (the "Red Book") and the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, as well as a number of books and continuing education publications. The site offers timely alerts on medications which have been recalled by the FDA or had warnings issued. The site also offers free MEDLINE access, as well as a directory of headquarters staff and the Association's publications catalog."

Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors
http://www.ahia.org/

"AHIA is the professional organization for healthcare internal auditors. It is an international nonprofit organization. It is the only organization established for the purpose of fulfilling the professional needs of healthcare internal auditors." The site has resources & services, member information, conferences & events, an audit library, chat, and list-serv subscription information.

Canadian Public Health Association
http://www.cpha.ca/en/default.aspx

"The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) is a national not-for-profit association incorporated in 1912. CPHA is composed of health professionals from over 25 health disciplines and is active in conducting and supporting health and social programs both nationally and internationally. CPHA stresses its partnership role by working with federal and provincial government departments and international agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector in conducting research and health services programs." This site is in English and French and has information about the association's activities and membership.

The Canadian Society for International Health
http://www.csih.org/

"The Canadian Society for International Health links individuals and organizations from all health sectors and all health and related professions. Society members include physicians, nurses, managers, therapists, nutritionists, social and laboratory scientists, and other professionals in fields related to international health. Members are affiliated with federal, provincial and local governments, private business, universities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international agencies, and all levels of health service in Canada."

Center for Bioethics--Bioethics Internet Project
http://www.bioethics.upenn.edu/

"The Center for Bioethics is an interdisciplinary, interprofessional unit of the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. The Center's mission is to advance scholarly and public understanding of ethical, legal, social and public policy issues in health care. Center faculty conduct research on key issues in bioethics, and are especially concerned with ethical issues in genetics, pediatrics, critical care, health policy, human experimentation and long-term care."

Center for the Study of Bioterrorism and Emerging Infections
http://www.slu.edu/colleges/sph/bioterrorism/

"The center is part of a national network formed in 2000 by the CDC to fight bioterrorism (biological weapons, chemical and biological agents) and emerging infections (tuberculosis, HIV, new viruses). It is one of only ten centers in the country and its main task is to prepare emergency response teams, physicians, nurses, health administrators and public health and community officials to respond effectively to health threats." Web site offerings include fact sheets, research project descriptions, copies of & links to important documents & articles, links to Internet resources, and a staff directory.

Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association
http://www.datia.org/

The Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) was founded in 1995 as the National Association of Collection Sites, and has grown to represent over 1,000 members, and expanded its scope. DATIA now represents the entire spectrum of drug and alcohol service providers including collection sites, laboratories, consortiums/TPAs, MROs, and testing equipment manufacturers.

Duke Center for Health Policy, Law and Management: Foundations
http://www.hpolicy.duke.edu/cyberexchange/whats_what/foundat...

This comprehensive meta-list of Associations and Foundations dealing with Health Care Law and Policy provides a handy way to compare and access such resources.

Healthcare Financial Management Association
http://www.hfma.org/

"The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) is the nation's leading personal membership organization for more than 33,000 financial management professionals employed by integrated delivery systems, long-term and ambulatory care facilities, managed care organizations, medical practice groups, hospitals, public accounting and consulting firms, insurance companies, government agencies, and other organizations." This site provides links to information regarding publications, education, updates, interest groups, forums, advocacy, certification and press releases.

International Health Economics Association
http://www.healtheconomics.org/

³iHEA has been formed to increase communication among health economists, foster a higher standard of debate in the application of economics to health and health care systems, and assist young researchers at the start of their careers.² This site provides the associations latest newsletter, conference information, a ³working paper archive,² and an online membership form.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
http://www.jointcommission.org/

"The mission of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is to improve the quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 19,500 health care organizations in the United States, including hospitals, health care networks, managed care organizations, and health care organizations that provide home care, long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory, and ambulatory care services. The Joint Commission is an independent, not-for-profit organization, and the world's leading health care standards-setting and accrediting body." The site includes information on career opportunities for the general public, professionals, and current healthcare employees, accreditation & standards measurements and methodology and consumer information and complaint forms. The site does contain a search function.

Médecins Sans Frontières
http://www.msf.org/

"MSF is the world's largest independent medical aid agency and is committed to two objectives: - providing medical aid wherever it is needed, regardless of ace, religion, politics or sex [and] - raising awareness of the plight of the people we help." MSF is also known as Doctors Without Borders. The site has information about MSF and its projects. It also provides information about how to help MSF and how to volunteer to work for MSF.

Medical Association of Billers
http://www.e-medbill.com/

"The Medical Association of Billers is an insurance claims organization created as a dependable source of basic and specialty coding information for independent third party billing and coding centers as well as provider offices and hospitals in need of billing and coding education and training." MAB offers online medical billing training, as well as a variety of weekend seminars. The site has information on training cources, membership, publications and other products, and MAB's mentoring program.

Medical Group Management Association
http://www.mgma.com/

"Founded in 1926, MGMA is the leading organization representing medical group practice. About 8,200 health care organizations and 21,000 individuals are MGMA members, representing nearly 192,000 physicians. " The Medical Group Management Association mission "is to advance the art and science of medica l group practice management to improve the health of our communities. " Their values follow principles that guide the members' and staff's actions and the corporate relationships: "Services to members and their organizations that result in improved health and health care for patients and the communities we serve. Customer focused, timely, quality, results-oriented services. Involvement of a broad and diverse membership. Anticipation and facilitation of change; Team oriented leadership; Collaborative relationships; Professionalism through ethical behavior and social responsibility. "

Midwest Healthcare Marketing Association
http://www.mhma.com/

"The Midwest Healthcare Marketing Association (MHMA) exists to enhance the professional value of healthcare marketers and to increase their opportunities for success within the healthcare industry." Besides information about the organization, the site has a calendar of events, newsletter, FAQ, and job bank.

Physicians for Social Responsibility
http://www.psr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Home

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is an organization dedicated to the elimination of nuclear weapons for medical and public health purposes. This website features information about their studies, findings and history.

Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society
http://raps.org/s_raps/index.asp

The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society website offers general information about the healthcare regulatory affairs profession, details about professional certification and an online job search function.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
http://www.rwjf.org/index.jsp

"The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, NJ, is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. It became a national institution in 1972 and concentrates its grantmaking in four areas: assuring access to basic health services; improving the way services are organized and provided for people with chronic health conditions; reducing the harm caused by substance abuse; and helping the nation address the problem of rising health care costs." This site provides links to information regarding grant application, resources, programs, a library, health tracking, conferences and a site search engine.

American Health Care Association
http://www.ahca.org/

"A federation of 50 state health organizations, together representing nearly 12,000 non-profit and for-profit assisted living, nursing facility, and subacute care providers that care for more than one million elderly and disabled individuals nationally. AHCA represents the long term care community to the nation at large -- to government, business leaders, and the general public. It also serves as a force for change within the long term care field, providing information, education, and administrative tools that enhance quality at every level." Searchable site consists mainly of consumer-related health information.

Vaccine Policy Institute
http://www.vaccinepolicy.org/

"The Vaccine Policy Institute (previously, Ohio Parents for Vaccine Safety) is a national, non-profit, 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt organization which researches vaccine safety and effectiveness issues in the medical and legal literature, and monitors federal vaccine policy-making commissions in Washington, D.C. and at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia."