January 2004
Helen Darling
Leonard D. Schaeffer
Kenneth Abramowitz
Joseph Newhouse, PhD
Paul Fronstin, PhD
Alice G. Gosfield
Newt Gingrich
J.D. Kleinke
Surgeons in nine hospitals formed a study group and then hit the road to learn from peers. Outcomes improved dramatically.
NCQA President Margaret O'Kane and a panel of clinically oriented administrators call for emphasis on making the best care financially attractive to physicians, plans, and employers.
Coverage may now come with built-in access to a level of case management that some HMOs find useful.
Departments
Viewpoint
Human beings are not machines, and modern medicine needs to move beyond the repair shop mentality. Could nontraditional services help?
Arthur Preston Smith, PhD
Legislation & Regulation
Congress frees up billions for plans that choose to participate in a new program for enrollees. This may be opportunity knocking.
John Carroll
Compensation Monitor
The Formulary Files
Ethics
A chance encounter with an unhappy reader (a physician) spurs a flood cliches about why doctors are "justified" in their refusal to move out of the dark ages
Michael S. Victoroff, MD
Tomorrow's Medicine
Angiogenesis blockade is a 30 year old concept, but it will soon make the leap from lab bench to pharmacy shelf.
Thomas Morrow, MD
Managed Care Outlook