On Health Policy and Management (HPAM): mind the theory-policy-practice gap.

On Health Policy and Management (HPAM): Mind the Theory-Policy-Practice Gap

We argue that the field of Health Policy and Management (HPAM) ought to confront the gap between theory, policy, and practice. Although there are perennial efforts to reform healthcare systems, the conceptual barriers are considerable and reflect the theory-policy-practice gap. We highlight four dimensions of the gap: 1) the dominance of microeconomic thinking in health policy analysis and desi...

Health Policy and Management: In Praise of Political Science; Comment on “On Health Policy and Management (HPAM): Mind the Theory-Policy Practice Gap”

Health systems have entered a third era embracing whole systems thinking and posing complex policy and management challenges. Understanding how such systems work and agreeing what needs to be put in place to enable them to undergo effective and sustainable change are more pressing issues than ever for policy-makers. The theory-policy-practice-gap and its four dimensions, as articulated by Chini...

An American Plague: Pro-Market Believers in Health Policy; Comment on “On Health Policy and Management (HPAM): Mind the Theory-Policypractice Gap”

Although American health policy debates address similar problems to other developed nations, it has factual and ideological specificities. I agree with Chinitz and Rodwin on the dominance of micro-economics thinking. However, I am not certain that learning from management theory or modifying medical education will be powerful enough to change the system. The vested interests of the stakeholders...

The Health Policy and Management (HPAM) Gap- From Diagnosis to Prescription: A Response to Recent Commentaries

What passes and fails as health policy and management.

The field of health policy and management (HPAM) faces a gap between theory, policy, and practice. Despite decades of efforts at reforming health policy and health care systems, prominent analysts state that the health system is "stuck" and that models for change remain "aspirational." We discuss four reasons for the failure of current ideas and models for redesigning health care: (1) the domin...