First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This text aims to provide answer to questions such as what happens when you get dropped from a managed care panel? How do you get paid? Why can't you get on a managed care panel? This book is an extended question and answer session where issues are tackled from the providers perspective.; Armed with the resources, examples and explanations provided in this book, clinicians will be positioned to make the decisions that contribute to success under managed care.

The new Third Edition of Managed Health Care: What It Is and How It Works is a concise introduction to the foundations of the American managed health care system. Written in clear and accessible language, this handy guide offers an historical overview of managed care and then walks the reader through the organizational structures, concepts, and practices of the managed care industry. This thorough revision has been completely updated with all the newest data on this dynamic industry and features all new sections on: pay for performance, consumer directed health plans, new approaches to care management, as well as advances in information technology.

The new Third Edition of Managed Health Care: What It Is and How It Works is a concise introduction to the foundations of the American managed health care system. Written in clear and accessible language, this handy guide offers an historical overview of managed care and then walks the reader through the organizational structures, concepts, and practices of the managed care industry. This thorough revision has been completely updated with all the newest data on this dynamic industry and features all new sections on: pay for performance, consumer directed health plans, new approaches to care management, as well as advances in information technology.

Managed Care

The first section leads us through the complicated and risky business of capitation and examines reimbursement in a managed care environment. The idiosyncrasies of managed care contracts are detailed and you will learn how to negotiate with managed care companies. There is a focus on practice profiling and the presentation of an expertise on referral guidelines. The final chapter explores the ethical issues of managed care. In section II you will find a description of outcome research and youseful information for the implementation of outcomes research in community-based office practices. The third section begins with two chapters on improving office efficiency and managing staff in a managed care environment. The next chapter leads us through the important and complicated software selection process for the individual practitioner's needs. A private practitioner offers his insight into managing a medical practice and the section completes with some helpful pointers to avoid malpractice claims. Section IV provides the physicians' response to managed care. The legal issues of mergers and networks are discussed. Several practicing physicians outline their personal experiences in the rapidly changing world of physician network development. The book's final chapter leaves us with an expertise on how physicians can take back healthcare