Dublin Core
Title
Box 3, Folder 15, Document 29
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
-2-
Third, since a considerable amount of planning is already being done for a
number of projects, hospital authorities, counties, and municipalities,
which affects the community's health picture, ways must be found to make
maximum use of this capability, and coordinate it into a community-wide
comprehensive planning effort. Finally, planning must preserve and encourage
the highest level of professional competence in the entire health system,
and must make use of the insights of all concerned in the community health
system.
The overall task of putting together such an organization is thus seen to be
a problem in "systems" analysis and development. Since the total resources
of the community are likely to remain smaller than the demands which an ideal
health system will place on the resources, rational and just methods of
assigning priorities to the various needs must be developed. A cost-benefit
analysis is essential to any such decision process, and, considering the
literally hundreds of specific health needs in the community, it is likely
that the cost-benefit model must rather soon make use of modern computer
techniques.
The Partnership for Health law requires that such planning be done with
people rather than for people. Therefore, maximum participation of health
"consumers", health professionals, governmental units and agencies, and other
community organizations is a necessity. The law is telling the States and
communities that they will be given increasing responsibility and power to
determine their own best health interests, and that the current Federal
practice of funding health-related projects through specific project-type
grants (such as for specific facilities and specific disease processes)
will phase into a system of "block" grants to the states for use as local
emphasis requires. Eventually, only communities which have organized them-
selves for comprehensive health planning may be eligible to receive Federal
support.
The current Atlanta area project is a pioneering effort. No other communities
in the country have progressed far enough along these lines to provide
patterns as to what we should do (or avoid). We have an opportunity to be
of service not only to our own community, but to others as well.
Third, since a considerable amount of planning is already being done for a
number of projects, hospital authorities, counties, and municipalities,
which affects the community's health picture, ways must be found to make
maximum use of this capability, and coordinate it into a community-wide
comprehensive planning effort. Finally, planning must preserve and encourage
the highest level of professional competence in the entire health system,
and must make use of the insights of all concerned in the community health
system.
The overall task of putting together such an organization is thus seen to be
a problem in "systems" analysis and development. Since the total resources
of the community are likely to remain smaller than the demands which an ideal
health system will place on the resources, rational and just methods of
assigning priorities to the various needs must be developed. A cost-benefit
analysis is essential to any such decision process, and, considering the
literally hundreds of specific health needs in the community, it is likely
that the cost-benefit model must rather soon make use of modern computer
techniques.
The Partnership for Health law requires that such planning be done with
people rather than for people. Therefore, maximum participation of health
"consumers", health professionals, governmental units and agencies, and other
community organizations is a necessity. The law is telling the States and
communities that they will be given increasing responsibility and power to
determine their own best health interests, and that the current Federal
practice of funding health-related projects through specific project-type
grants (such as for specific facilities and specific disease processes)
will phase into a system of "block" grants to the states for use as local
emphasis requires. Eventually, only communities which have organized them-
selves for comprehensive health planning may be eligible to receive Federal
support.
The current Atlanta area project is a pioneering effort. No other communities
in the country have progressed far enough along these lines to provide
patterns as to what we should do (or avoid). We have an opportunity to be
of service not only to our own community, but to others as well.
Comments