It was not successful, mainly for political reasons. I served on a health planning advisory board for Montgomery County, Md., in the 1970s. In place of collaboration with consumers, the health field is under the boot of the marketplace, or those that say what the marketplace needs. The program should have mentioned this history. Our country may yet move into a highly regulatory environment for HMOs, with, I hope, heavy consumer representation and a climate of collaboration.
Human connection is the primary agent in effective health care.
It is particularly sad, and perhaps only a little less frightening, to see how managed care is destroying mental health care. In that particular instance the relationship between healer and patient IS the healing agent. And Outpatient mental health a part of society which DID NOT add to increasing health care costs. Please keep up your good work of exposing the public to the truth - and the truth to the public. In my humble opinion, these people who equate health care with assembly line production should hang their heads in shame.