Gapenski’s Healthcare Finance: An Introduction to Accounting and Financial Management explores how healthcare organizations manage financial operations to optimally provide patient care. This significantly revised edition of one of Health Administration Press’s best-selling books introduces the key foundational elements of healthcare finance, including both accounting and financial management. Numerous examples throughout showcase how healthcare finance is practiced in a variety of organizations, including hospitals, medical practices, clinics, home health agencies, nursing homes, and managed care organizations. Authors Kristin L. Reiter and Paula H. Song emphasize not only financial theory and principles but also practical tools healthcare managers can use to make the crucial decisions that promote the financial well-being of their organization. Gapenski’s Healthcare Finance examines the current financial environment in which providers operate, with an emphasis on health system design, healthcare insurance, and reimbursement methodologies. Dates, exhibits, references, and resources have been updated throughout. All examples and financial statements reflect current accounting and reporting standards. In a dynamic environment, healthcare leaders need to practice good financial decision-making for the health of their patients and the financial stability of their organization. From this book, current and future managers will understand the finance problems provider organizations face and how best to solve them.

Kristin L. Reiter, PhD, is professor and associate chair in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and a research fellow in the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, both at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author or coauthor of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, and she has presented to academic and professional audiences in the United States, France, and Canada. Paula H. Song, PhD, is associate professor and residential master’s program director in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, and a research fellow in the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, both at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Song received a doctorate in health services organization and policy and a master’s degree in health services administration and applied economics from the University of Michigan.