Managing Public Involvement in Health Care Purchasing

Public involvement is a key theme within the post-reform NHS, with a growing emphasis on involving people in healthcare decision-making, improving accountability to the public and developing a stronger focus on the consumer or user of services. This challenging book establishes a framework for public involvement in healthcare. With a focus on purchasing, the authors draw on recent research findings and their practical experience to describe the central factors 'driving' involvement, and the organizational structures and processes by which it is underpinned. Recommendations are made for the development of effective strategies for public involvement in healthcare purchasing. The discussion of current issues and debates is set within a wider theoretical and historical examination of the concepts of 'citizenship' and 'accountability', detailing the role of the 'consumer' in the context of the major changes in the organization and delivery of public services that have taken place in Britain in the last two decades.