HEALTH-CARE REFORM AND THE LABOR-MARKET

Reform is probably the most frequently used term when discussing healt h care systems. The literature is broad and general, with topics rangi ng From reasons fur carrying out reform, through discussion and the me aning of the reform, to discussions of methods for reform in developin g countries. Interest has been centered more on the definition of cont ent and less on the processes of implementation. Implications in terms of changes in the requirements of health facilities and human resourc es have been only superficially addressed. This paper presents a conce ptual framework to discuss the main issues involved in reform of the h ealth care systems and the shifts in needs of human resources. Assessm ent of the ways in which reform affects the medical labor market requi re the application of a conceptual framework that enables us to focus more on process than content. In the organizational change literature, both in theory and practice, human resources have been found critical for the institutionalization of organizational change. They are also critical for assessing health care reform. Copyright (C) 1996 Publishe d by Elsevier Science Ltd