"New Zealand is the only country in the world where elected health boards have long been a core feature of the health care system. These boards are conceptually important and aspirational for policy-makers and communities across the world grappling with issues of how to increase public participation in health care. This book traces the development of New Zealand’s elected health boards, from the 1930s to the present District Health Board structure, analyzing the history of democratic governance of health care, how boards have functioned, the politics surrounding their reform, and the idea of local democracy in health care decision-making. Based on extensive primary research, it assesses the capacity of elected boards to effectively govern the allocation of public expenditure on behalf of taxpayers and patients. Are there alternatives to the existing District Health Board model? How might the electoral model be improved upon? The concluding chapter provides some suggestions" (publisher).