Retraining specialist physicians for primary care practice

Managed care has led to unprecedented changes in the market forces in medicine. As a result, many physicians not in primary care will find it difficult to sustain their practices, and many of them who attempt to change to primary care careers will find themselves unprepared. Rather than CME or GME, a better response is retraining programs designed for these trainees' needs, which provide credentials that are valued by MCOs and develop expertise in primary care practice in MCO settings. MCOs and academic medical centers have an important opportunity to collaborate in serving the medical profession and meeting the primary care needs of the United States.