ABSTRACT

HMO Psychiatry: Not All The Same [HMO PRACTICE]

As a medical student and psychiatric resident in the 1970s in Philadelphia, I was intrigued by the concept of the health maintenance organization (HMO), which, at the time, was primarily a California phenomenon. Kaiser Permanente, then as now, was the prototype organization. From 3,000 miles away, it appeared to offer socially responsible, nonelitist medical care in a comprehensive, organized system. It also seemed to relieve physicians of some of the headaches of private practice, such as billing and collecting fees, frequent night and weekend coverage, and competing for patients.