Managerial Epidemiology: Cases and Concepts, 4th Edition

The COVID-19 pandemic threw the world into turmoil and exposed a cascade of vulnerabilities. One of the many lessons learned from this pandemic is that epidemiological principles must be applied to manage healthcare services and control disease in populations. Managerial Epidemiology: Cases and Concepts provides a comprehensive introduction to epidemiology and its use in healthcare management. Extensively revised, this edition demonstrates, through 64 real-world case studies and numerous examples, how the tools and principles of epidemiology can help managers make better-informed decisions. Updates include: two new chapters on population health and confounding, bias, and effect modification; new cases focused on relevant healthcare management issues, such as health risk factors and capitation rates; a completely rewritten chapter on epidemiology and financial management; heavily revised chapters on case-control studies, cohort studies, randomized clinical trials, infectious disease epidemiology, mortality and risk adjustment, and cost-effectiveness analysis; a sharper focus on healthcare-acquired infections; and greater emphasis on needs assessment and healthcare planning. The book’s case studies are presented in three levels. In-chapter cases and answer guides form an integral component of the book’s learning process. End-of-chapter cases provide additional exercises for practical application, with answers supplied at the back of the book so that students can self-quiz. In the book’s final section, in-depth capstone cases offer an opportunity for reviewing and synthesizing material from specific chapters. Today more than ever, healthcare administrators must use the information provided by epidemiological methods to optimally manage interventions, treatments, and healthcare services that affect the health of populations.

Steven T. Fleming, PhD, is a professor emeritus in the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky, with appointments in the Departments of Epidemiology and Health Management and Policy. Professor Fleming has master’s degrees in public administration (University of Hartford) and applied economics (University of Michigan). He also earned a PhD in health services organization and policy from the University of Michigan, where he was privileged to have Dr. Avedis Donabedian as a member of his dissertation committee. His primary research interest is in the area of cancer epidemiology, and he is particularly interested in the impact of comorbid illness on cancer diagnosis and treatment. Professor Fleming has published more than 60 articles in the health services research and epidemiology literature, in such journals as Medical Care, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Inquiry, Journal of Rural Health, and Annals of Epidemiology, and he has reviewed articles for Cancer, Medical Care, Annals of Epidemiology, and Journal of Rural Health, among others. He has enjoyed three wonderful international sabbaticals with colleagues at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, and the Center for Public Health Research in Wellington, New Zealand.