Contributors examine the degree to which the provision of health care is influenced by characteristics of the health service organization, such as the administrative structure and the human resources available. They demonstrate that job satisfaction and conditions play an important role in shaping the quality and effectiveness of care and discuss the emotional support health care providers need to avoid long-term exhaustion and ensure well being. The contributors identify qualities of the client-provider interaction that lead to positive health care outcomes, such as providing information, responding to patient concerns, facilitating interactions with the health care system, and encouraging participation in personal health care and offer examples of innovative conceptual and analytical approaches to better health care practices. Contributors include Heather Boon (University of Toronto), Laurette Dubé, Carole A. Estabrooks (University of Alberta), Guylaine Ferland, Arlie Russell Hochschild (University of California, Berkley), Diane M. Irvine Doran (University of Toronto), Terrence Montague (Merck Frosst Canada), D.S. Moskowitz, Richard W.J. Neufeld (University of Western Ontario), Gilbert Pinard (McGill University), Debra L. Roter (John Hopkins Blooomberg School of Public Health), Dana Gelb Safran (New England Medical Center), and Krista K. Trobst (York University).