Until now little attention has been paid by sociologists to health policy issues. The Sociology of the Health Service provides an analysis of current policy and covers such topics as privatisation, health education and management.

Introduction Jonathan Gabe, Michael Calnan, and Michael Bury 1. Medical Sociology and Health Policy: an Historical Overview Margaret Stacey 2. Privatisation in the British Health Service: a Challenge to the NHS John Mohan 3. The Politics of Professional Power: Medicine in a Changing Health Service Mary Ann Elston 4. Health Service Management - A Sociological View Griffiths and the Non-Negotiated Order of the Hospital David Cox 5. Evaluating the Outcomes of Health Care Angela Coulter 6. Recent Developments in General Practice: a Sociological Analysis Michael Calnan and Jonathan Gabe 7. Knowledge and Control in Health Promotion: a Test Case for Social Policy and Social Theory Alan Beattie 8. The Confused Boundaries of Community Care Hilary Land 9. The Agenda for Sociological Health Policy Research for the 1990s Margot Jefferys