Managed care organizations: the new research partners

The current "accountability movement" in managed care demands many of the same components as good research methodology: both issues depend on comprehensive data sources, knowledgeable data manipulation, and credible reporting of the results. As a result, some plans that have earmarked resources and institutional support to good accounting practices are also forming centers of research. The following is an overview of these managed care organizations and their studies, which investigate questions most relevant to their populations and data sources. This article summarizes this expanding area of health services research and identifies the key institutional components of the plans that support this work.