The Changing Face of Health Care, and Patient-Caregiver Relationships, edited by John F. Kilner, Robert D. Orr and Judith Allen Shelly

Edited by John F. Kilner, Robert D. Orr and Judith Allen Shelly, The Changing Face of Health Care, and Patient-Caregiver Relationships. (Eerdmans, 314 pp.)

The ways in which American health care is delivered and financed are changing dramatically. These changes have important ramifications for Christian administrators of health care facilities and for physicians and nurses who see connections between their professions and their faith. How can they remain faithful to both their Christian identity and their identity as healers?

People with a variety of responsibilities within health care contribute to this collection of essays. The volume proposes no single answer to the questions and dilemmas we face; the essays' varied perspectives reflect the ongoing discussions and divisions within and among the Christian communities. Most of the writers assume that Christians should work within the current health care system and reform it. But one author proposes that we ought to withdraw from the current managed-care and insurance system and learn how to support one another directly.