June 2003
They have symptoms, but that doesn't mean primary care physicians can pinpoint a physical problem. Yet they do suffer, and are a cost center for insurers and employers.
Frank Diamond
DM is God's gift to managed care. Or is it? Here is a discussion of areas that make evaluating a DM program a complex, if not ineffable, proposition.
Alison Johnson, RN, MBA
Mail order programs can provide savings, but HMOs need to ensure that they are actually receiving sufficient value.
Thomas Kaye RPh, MBA
The former Vermont governor at first greeted managed care with good will. Now, however, he thinks it is shortsighted in its dealing with doctors. Unlike President Bush, he wouldn't call on it to rescue Medicare.
John Carroll
A think tank's plan for universal coverage is more in tune with Democrats than with the current Republican administration.
True, there are other reasons the facilities have closed, but insurers' payment rates stand out. Is it better that some are history?
Maureen Glabman
Departments
Legislation & Regulation
Some in government question the propriety of physicians steering patients into facilities that the doctors partly own.
John Carroll
Tomorrow's Medicine
New therapies that manipulate the immune system offer hope to patients and pose challenges to managed care.
Thomas Morrow, MD
The Formulary Files
Systems & Software
Grocery stores and the nonpharmaceutical parts of drug stores have been using bar codes for years. Now retail and hospital pharmacies will use the technology to save lives.
Joyce Ochs, MBA
Managed Care Outlook