The Waiting Game: Managed Care and Dentistry 26A
Combined managed health and dental coverage could save expenses for employers and improve care. But neither employers nor traditional HMOs have shown much interest in such packaged plans
Will State Legislators Keep Playing Doctor? 28
Health care reform isn’t dead; it just comes in 50 different flavors now as state laws proliferate. But, happily for HMOs, even some state legislators are starting to realize they can’t micromanage all of medicine.
Written Tests Can Help You Hire the Best Employees 39
Beware: If you hire unqualified people, your practice could be in danger. Administering a few tests appropriate to the job can help you screen out applicants who lack the skills needed to help you succeed.
One Health System’s Approach To Disease Management 41
For New Mexico’s renowned Lovelace Health Systems, a fortuitous partnership with a disease management vendor has made it possible to develop programs in 17 clinical areas without crippling costs.
A Conversation With Xerox’s Helen Darling, Quality Guru 51
Why should a single employer invest so much in improving managed care quality? Xerox’s benefits manager–who also sits on a key NCQA panel–sets examples that encourage and reward quality health plans.
Fraud and Abuse Find A Home in Managed Care 62
Managed care take a bite out of fraud? Hardly. It has merely changed the techniques of stealing. But tighter federal and private enforcement are unmasking an unlikely criminal class: the medical community.
Don’t Put Off Dealing With the ‘Millennium Bug’ 71
Health plans that are complacent about the “Year 2000” problem are courting trouble. Without the needed software or hardware upgrades, patient records–and even patient care–can be thrown into chaos.
DEPARTMENTS
Managing Editor’s Memo 8
News and Commentary 9
Washington Initiatives 20
Compensation Monitor 22
State Initiatives 25
Ethics 76
Legal Forum 80
Employer Update 84
Managed Care Outlook 86
Paul Lendner ist ein praktizierender Experte im Bereich Gesundheit, Medizin und Fitness. Er schreibt bereits seit über 5 Jahren für das Managed Care Mag. Mit seinen Artikeln, die einen einzigartigen Expertenstatus nachweisen, liefert er unseren Lesern nicht nur Mehrwert, sondern auch Hilfestellung bei ihren Problemen.