Leatt, Mapa, and their panel of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers provide compelling reasons why the development and maintenance of effective government relations in the health industry must be a top priority for health industry management. This book explores how U.S. health care policies are similar to those of Canada-an important insight and unusual new way to understand how government/health industry processes actually work. The authors prove that government relations strategies must be built into the organization's strategic plan. They provide ways to monitor and improve the relationship between one's own health facility and the government agencies that influence its activities and survival.

Drawn from the public, private, and academic communities of the U.S. and Canada, the contributors to this wide-ranging volume conclude that the formation and implementation of health care policy is an essential component of any strategic planning process. Intended for top decision makers in the health industry, as well as for health policy makers throughout the public sector, this unique treatment of health care as a significant contemporary problem will also be of value to consumers, community groups, students, and anyone who demands a say in health policy and its implementation.

PEGGY LEATT is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Administration in the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She is also founding editor of Hospital Quarterly and Health Care Papers, two prominent Canadian publications.

JOSEPH MAPA is President and Chief Executive Officer of Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, and Assistant Professor of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.