Medical groups at the crossroads

Medical groups and physicians have arrived at the crossroads of an uncertain future. The purpose of this paper is to explore how both can collaborate to win over the long-run. Evolving group practice imperatives are analyzed, including reinventing the group practice concept, achieving productivity from providers, intensifying medical management without raising costs and demonstrating the value of products and services. These imperatives define the deliverables required from medical groups and physicians in order to establish a promising fit with managed care plans. Responses to these imperatives enable medical groups to offer precisely the sort of distinctive competitiveness that managed care plans seek and that lead to long-run viability.