Arrange and conduct a brief face-to-face or telephone interview with a public health or hospital professional (this could be a planner, educator, or other professional performing in an administrative capacity) to obtain his/her perspective on the current local health care delivery system and the relationship between the community clinical system and the public health system. Explore the interviewee’s expectations for future health care delivery, for example, over the next five (5) years. Include your own questions and follow-up questions to those suggested below. If an interview is impossible to arrange, research your local (county or state) public health Web sites to discern responses to your questions. Following the interview, prepare a 4-page summary of the administrator’s comments, including answers to the questions you have posed.
Prepare your questions in advance, including:
- How has health care delivery changed over the last five (5) years and how do you think it will it change in the next five (5) years?
- What are ways in which the hospital and its providers interact with the public health system?
- Do you believe there is adequate coordination between the public health system and the health care delivery system in general?
- Is there a health care delivery preparedness plan for a public health event, such as an infectious epidemic or bioterrorist attack?
