All chapters begin with an introduction and end with a chapter summary and review questions.

Part 1 – TRADITIONAL CARE – Hospitals and Healthcare in the U.S.

Chapter 1 – Hospitals and Spiraling Healthcare Costs

• Types of hospitals and community hospital statistics
• Why outpatient procedures are growing

Chapter 2 - Physician Offices – Both a Primary Care Provider & The Principle Gatekeeper for Other Types of Healthcare

• What is a primary care provider and are there different types?
• What are the similarities and the differences in an M.D. and a D.O.?
• How does a physician’s office usually function? 
  • Before the appointment 
    • Choosing the physician
    • Making the appointment
  • During the appointment
    • The front office
    • The back office
  • After the appointment
• The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)

Chapter 3 – Urgent Care Centers – “The Doc in the Box”

• History
• Build Them and They Will Come
• Scope of Urgent Care
• Minor injuries, illnesses, routine care, and diagnostics
• Convenience and location
• Who pays?
• Customer service, customer satisfaction
• Hours of operation and staffing
• Convenience clinics – a new breed
• The future of urgent care clinics

Chapter 4 – The Virtual Doctor Office

• Advantages
• Disadvantages

PART 2 – DIAGNOSING – New Methods and Facilities

Chapter 5 – Pharmacies and Home Testing Devices

• Your friendly neighborhood pharmacist
• Over the counter home diagnostic test kits
• Advantages and disadvantages of these kits
• Types of available test kits

Chapter 6 – Outpatient Laboratories

• Services offered by these labs
• Direct access testing (DAT)
  • Walk in labs
  • Mail order test kits
  • Blood donation centers as a way of obtaining a test
  • Home test kits

Chapter 7 – Outpatient Imaging Centers

• Services
  • Mammography
  • Ultrasound
  • Bone densitometry
  • Computerized Tomography (CT scan)
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
  • Fluoroscopy
  • X-ray
  • Virtual colonoscopy
  • Nuclear medicine
  • PET Imaging
  • Angiography/Interventional radiology
  • EEG
  • EMG

PART 3 – ACUTE-CARE TREATMENT OPTIONS (presented alphabetically)

Chapter 8 – The Allergy Clinic

• The allergist/immunologist
• Symptoms of allergies
• Diagnosing allergies
• Common allergies
• Treatments - immunotherapy  

Chapter 9 – Care from Chiropractors and Podiatrists

• Chiropractors
  • Health problems treated through chiropractic care
  • Injury problems treated through chiropractic care
  • At the office
  • Treatment plans
• Podiatrists
  • The Podiatry physician
  • Reasons for podiatry care

Chapter 10 - Dentistry

• General dentistry
• The dentist’s role
• The dental hygienist
• The dental assistant
• The dental lab technician
• Dental specialists
  • Pediatric dentistry
  • Orthodontist
  • Periodontist
  • Endodontist
  • Oral and maxillofacial surgeon
  • Cosmetic dentistry
  • Prosthodontist

Chapter 11 – Dermatology

• Dermatologists 
• Common skin diseases
• Industrial dermatology
• Cosmetic dermatology

Chapter 12 – Hearing and Speaking – Audiology and Speech Pathology  

• Audiology and audiologists
• Speech pathology

Chapter 13 - IVF as a Form of ART

• Definition and history
• The usual procedure
• Cost of the procedure
• Other ART forms
• Risks and advantages
• Bioethics

Chapter 14 – Optometry, Dispensing Optometrists and Ophthalmology…or, “The Eyes Have It”

• Optometrists
• Dispensing Opticians
• Ophthalmologists

Chapter 15 – Outpatient Surgery Centers

• What is an outpatient surgery center?
  • Typical procedures performed in an outpatient surgery center
  • Outpatient surgical center staff
    • Anesthesiologist
    • Physician performing the procedure
    • Registered nurses
    • Surgical and radiology technicians
  • The elective outpatient surgical procedure – a colonoscopy as an example

Chapter 16 – Pain Management

• Know your pain
• Common ways of treating pain
  • Coping methods and psychologists
  • Physical medicine, exercise, and physiatrists
  • TENS and electro-thermal therapy 
  • Drugs and anesthesiologists
  • Surgery and surgeons
  • Alternative medicine and pain management
• Pain management at the end of life

Chapter 17 – “Let’s get physical” – Rehab., P.T., O.T., Sports Medicine, R.T., Cardiac Rehab., and Work Hardening – Whew!

• Rehabilitation medicine
• Physical therapy (P.T.)
• Occupational therapy (O.T.)
• Sports Medicine
• Recreational therapy
• Cardiac rehabilitation
• Work hardening

Chapter 18 – Psychology, Psychiatry & Alternative Forms of Psychotherapy

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy – A few examples
  • Psychoanalysis
  • Art therapy or creative art therapy
  • Behavior therapy

Chapter 19 – Protecting the Public’s Health – Efforts at Many Levels 

• Introduction
• Public health, occupational health, and environmental health
• Public health clinics
• Chapter summary
• Review questions

Chapter 20 – Sleep Disorders

• Common sleep disorders
  • Insomnia
    • Transient insomnia
    • Short-term insomnia
    • Chronic insomnia
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
  • Narcolepsy
• Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
• Diagnosing and treating sleep disorders

Chapter 21 – Travel Medicine

• Travel intelligence and advice
• Inoculations and vaccines 
• Recommended equipment, supplies, and products
• Post travel medical care
• Responsible travel

Chapter 22 – Weight Loss

• Treatment options
• Self help materials
• Home exercise equipment
• Meal substitute drinks
• Weight-loss medications
• Commercial, non-medical, weight loss programs
• Fitness centers and gymnasiums
• Medical weight loss centers
• Weight loss surgery

Chapter 23 – Wellness Clinics

• Clinic options

PART 4 – CHRONIC CARE

Chapter 24 – Dialysis

• Kidney transplants and bioethics
• Peritoneal dialysis
  • Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD)
  • Continuous Cycling Peritoneal Dialysis (CCPD)
• Hemodialysis
• Peritoneal dialysis or hemodialysis?

Chapter 25 – Home Health Care

• Evolution of home health care
• The many facets of home health care
• Home health care agencies
• Medicare guidelines for finding a home health care agency
• Home health care providers
  • Nurses
  • Physical therapists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Speech therapists
  • Social workers
• Methods of payment

Chapter 26 – HIV and AIDS Clinics

• Services offered

Chapter 27 – Oncology Centers

• A war on cancer?
• Chemotherapy
• Bone marrow and stem cell transplants
• Radiation
• Surgery
• Psychological and other care for patients with cancer

Chapter 28 – Long-Term Acute Care

• History of LTAC’s
• Patient profile
• Services provided

Chapter 29 – Adult Day Care

• Types of adult day care centers
• Client profile
• Services that are usually provided  
• Activities offered
• Hours of operation
• Cost of attending
• Available 3rd party payors
• What are the rights of a client?
• Who could be expected to regulate these clinics?

Chapter 30 – Geriatric Assessment Clinics and Rheumatology

• Introduction
• The assessment team
• Community services for geriatric patients
• Rheumatology and rheumatologists
• Arthritis and other related rheumatic conditions
  • Arthritis
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Gout
  • Lupus
• Chapter summary
• Review questions

Chapter 31 – Long-term Care

• A stepping stone process
  • The independent retirement village
  • Toward intermediate care or assisted living
  • Full care
• Trends in long-term care

Chapter 32 – Hospice and Palliative Care

• The hospice team
• Is it appropriate for everyone?
• Choosing a hospice center or your home
• Palliative care