From managed care to cooperative care

The difficulties manifested between managed care and its practitioners are formidable but not inevitable. A change in the perception of practitioners toward managed care will need a concerted effort on the part of both the provider and the industry, realizing there is more to gain by working together. The author reports two examples of cooperative care. These did not happen on their own. Rather, perceptions were changed in the only way perceptions are really changed: through results. This article is optimistic that, by persons of vision on both sides, there can be a move from managed to cooperative care.