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::''This article is about policies, plans and strategies across the health care sector. For specific information on health insurance policies, see health insurance.'' Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific health care goals within a society."〔World Health Organization. (''Health Policy'' ), accessed 22 March 2011.〕 According to the World Health Organization, an explicit health policy can achieve several things: it defines a vision for the future; it outlines priorities and the expected roles of different groups; and it builds consensus and informs people.〔 There are many categories of health policies, including personal health care policy, pharmaceutical policy, and policies related to public health such as vaccination policy, tobacco control policy or breastfeeding promotion policy. They may cover topics of financing and delivery of health care, access to care, quality of care, and health equity.〔Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management (''About Health Care Policy'' ), accessed 25 March 2011.〕 == Background == Health-related policy and its implementation is complex. Conceptual models can help show the flow from health-related policy development to health-related policy and program implementation and to health systems and health outcomes. Policy should be understood as more than a national law or health policy that supports a program or intervention. Operational policies are the rules, regulations, guidelines, and administrative norms that governments use to translate national laws and policies into programs and services.〔Cross, H, N Jewell and Karen Hardee. 2001. (''Reforming Operational Policies: A Pathway to Improving Reproductive Health Programs'' ) POLICY Occasional Paper. No. 7. Washington DC: The Futures Group International, POLICY Project〕 The policy process encompasses decisions made at a national or decentralized level (including funding decisions) that affect whether and how services are delivered. Thus, attention must be paid to policies at multiple levels of the health system and over time to ensure sustainable scale-up. A supportive policy environment will facilitate the scale-up of health interventions.〔K. Hardee, L. Ashford, E. Rottach, R. Jolivet, and R. Kiesel. 2012. (''The Policy Dimensions of Scaling Up Health Initiatives'' ). Washington, DC: Futures Group, Health Policy Project〕 There are many topics in the politics and evidence that can influence the decision of a government, private sector business or other group to adopt a specific policy. Evidence-based policy relies on the use of science and rigorous studies such as randomized controlled trials to identify programs and practices capable of improving policy relevant outcomes. Most political debates surround personal health care policies, especially those that seek to reform health care delivery, and can typically be categorized as either philosophical or economic. Philosophical debates center around questions about individual rights, ethics and government authority, while economic topics include how to maximize the efficiency of health care delivery and minimize costs. The modern concept of health care involves access to medical professionals from various fields as well as medical technology, such as medications and surgical equipment. It also involves access to the latest information and evidence from research, including medical research and health services research. In many countries it is left to the individual to gain access to health care goods and services by paying for them directly as out-of-pocket expenses, and to private sector players in the medical and pharmaceutical industries to develop research. Planning and production of health human resources is distributed among labour market participants. Other countries have an explicit policy to ensure and support access for all of its citizens, to fund health research, and to plan for adequate numbers, distribution and quality of health workers to meet health care goals. Many governments around the world have established universal health care, which takes the burden of health care expenses off of private businesses or individuals through pooling of financial risk. There are a variety of arguments for and against universal health care and related health policies. Health care is an important part of health systems and therefore it often accounts for one of the largest areas of spending for both governments and individuals all over the world. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Health policy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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