Managed care systems also allow careful monitoring of patients with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and asthma. Physicians work closely with nurses and health educators to keep patients informed of the latest developments in treating their conditions. Increased access allows doctors to detect health problems early, improving quality of life while reducing the need for painful, expensive clinical intervention. More than 120 million Americans are cared for in HMOs, PPOs or other managed care arrangements. More than 39 million of these patients carry Blue Cross and Blue Shield cards.
Innovation frequently breeds a little chaos.
But in the long run, managed care's continuous quality improvement efforts will help American medicine continue its tradition of worldwide leadership. More than 120 million Americans are cared for in HMOs, PPOs or other managed care arrangements. More than 39 million of these patients carry Blue Cross and Blue Shield cards. These people understand that managed and coordinated care systems produce significant advances in health care provision. This orginally appeared on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Web site and has been reproduced here by permission.