Managed Care - March 2008 - (Page 3) EDITOR’S MEMO Care Editor M A N A G E D Cooperation Abounds If You Just Look for It By John Marcille ast month we published a theme issue on wellness and swore: “Never again.” Not because we weren’t happy with the results (we were), but because there’s an inherent danger in such undertakings: If the reader isn’t interested in the theme, he might lay the entire publication aside. Of course, you live and you learn, and February’s issue also included two articles and a host of columns that had nothing to do with wellness. There’s something for everyone. This month, as we assembled and edited the disparate articles, we found — a theme. It snuck up on us. This theme is about collaboration. You can find it in our cover story on page 14 about what makes Harvard Pilgrim Health Care so exemplary. HPHC operates in a tough neighborhood where several of the insurers score high in national ranking systems. It’s competitive, but not so much so that those companies won’t cooperate on some things. “When you think about the fact that health plans are willing to come together in a collaborative and share their data across health plans so that we can get more reliable performance information, that’s really huge. They do that here,” Barbra Rabson, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners, told us. Then there’s our story on page 28 about how some of the largest HMOs in the country are cooperating in a research network, sharing their own data for the larger good. Cooperatives such as the HMO Research Network will benefit the entire medical system. The ideas of cooperation and collaboration crop up elsewhere as well, but not in a heavy-handed way. We have health care companies working with employers, for example. But don’t despair! We also have conflict galore. As I said, there’s something for everyone. MC JOHN MARCILLE Managing Editor FRANK DIAMOND Associate Editor L TONY BERBERABE Consulting Editor MICHAEL DALZELL Senior Contributing Editor MARGARETANN CROSS Contributing Editors LOLA BUTCHER JOHN CARROLL MAUREEN GLABMAN MARTIN SIPKOFF Design Director PHILIP DENLINGER Group Publisher TIMOTHY P. SEARCH, RPH Director of New Product Development TIMOTHY J. STEZZI Eastern Sales Manager SCOTT MACDONALD Senior Account Manager KENNETH D. WATKINS III Director of Production Services WANETA PEART Circulation Manager CONTACT E-MAIL ADDRESSES: Editors: editors_mail@managedcaremag.com Circulation: circulation_updates@managedcaremag.com Advertising: advertising_info@managedcaremag.com Reprints: reprints_request@managedcaremag.com Clinical judgment must guide each clinician in weighing the benefits of treatment against the risk of toxicity. Dosages, indications, and methods of use for products referred to in this publication may reflect the professional literature or other clinical sources, or may reflect the clinical experience of the authors, and might not be the same as what is on the approved package insert. Please consult the complete prescribing information for any products mentioned in this publication. MediMedia USA Inc. assumes no liability for the information published herein. MANAGED CARE (ISSN 1062-3388) is published monthly by MediMedia USA, Inc. at 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067. This is Volume 17, Issue 3. Phone: (267) 685-2788; fax (267) 685-2966. Send letters to the editor to Frank Diamond, MANAGED CARE, 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Copyright 2008 by MediMedia USA, Inc. All rights reserved under the United States, International, and Pan-American copyright conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, electronic, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of MediMedia USA Inc. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Subscriptions for individuals or institutions in the U.S.A are $100 per year, $10 per single copy; elsewhere, $120 per year, $22 per single copy. Circulation records are maintained at 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067. Inquiries about paid subscriptions: Lisa Gardineer, telephone (267) 685-2789; e-mail: lgardineer@medimedia.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to MANAGED CARE, 780 Township Line Road, Yardley, PA 19067. Periodicals postage paid at Morrisville, PA, and at additional mailing offices. JACQUELYN OTT Major articles are reviewed by appropriate members of the editorial advisory board and/or other qualified experts. Opinions are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the institutions that employ the authors, nor of the publisher, editor, or editorial advisory board of MANAGED CARE. www.managedcaremag.com MARCH 2008 / MANAGED CARE 3 http://www.managedcaremag.com http://www.managedcaremag.com
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