Given the fundamental and growing importance of health to the economy and society, this book addresses some of the key questions being asked in relation to health in the future. What will the health system look like, how much will it cost, what ethical framework will underlie future health policy and can we really have a system that is designed to improve health as well as provide health care? Based on the 'Policy Futures for UK Health' project, this collection explores the shape of the health system and its key components, taking a multidisciplinary approach to health policy questions that are designed to appeal to the specialist and those who want to know more about our health system and what it might look like in the future.List of Tables List of Figures Foreword; J.W.Owen Acknowledgements The Authors: Contact Details List of Abbreviations Introduction; S.Dawson PART 1: SYSTEMS AND COMPLEXITY The Shape of UK Health Systems; C.Sausman & S.Dawson Systems for Health or Healthcare Systems?; D.Yach The State of the Healthcare System in England; C.Paton Health Policy Futures and Cost Scenarios for England 2002-2003; G.Lister Why Do Good Politics Make Bad Health Policy?; S.Greer PART 2: POLICIES AND STRATEGIES Strategy in the NHS: Science or Sixth Sense?; M.De Rond & P.Dash Ethics and Policy in Healthcare: Status and Prognosis; W.Rogers Making Healthcare Sustainable: A Case Study of the NHS; K.Jochelson Meeting the Emotional Challenge in Organising Health for the Future; A.Mark PART 3: PEOPLE AND KNOWLEDGE The Role of the Patient in Healthcare Reform: Customer, Consumer or Creator?; I.Greener The Social Epidemiology of Information Technologies; J.Keen & J.Wyatt Harnessing Innovation in Health IT: Effective Support and Evaluated Visions; M.Rigby Public Perceptions, Ambivalence and the Endogenous Regulation of Biotechnology in the UK; J.Costa-Font & E.Mossialos Conclusion; S.Dawson, Z.Morris, L.Chang & C.Sausman IndexLINDA CHANG Research Assistant, Judl³+