Prevention in managed care: joining forces for value and quality. Opening plenary.

On January 15–16, 1997, about a year ago, more than 650 health professionals gathered in Atlanta to attend the conference, “Prevention in Managed Care: Joining Forces for Value and Quality.” The conference was designed to bring together key and diverse stakeholders in the public’s health—persons whose professional responsibilities and objectives are similar, who need to work together to improve the nation’s health, but who have not yet established relationships and networks for collaboration. The nine sponsoring organizations (pp. 123–124), representing public health agencies, managed care organizations, purchasers, foundations, and government, exemplified these organizations and health professionals. The conference format afforded opportunities for discussing preventive health issues such as immunization, cancer screening, adolescent health, and violence as well as issues of purchasing and contracting for preventive health services and of having data for intervention and fiscal decision making, performance measurement, accreditation, and assessment. As important, it was hoped that, through interacting and sharing perspectives on roles and responsibilities as part of the conference workshops, communication and partnerships for prevention would grow. Traditional public health leaders joined with managed care officials and providers, public and private sector purchasers of health benefits, and community health professionals and foundation leaders to discuss perspectives, responsibilities, and logistical and technical realities for bridging the chasm between public and private sector health responsibilities. For many individuals in public health, this was their first interaction with representatives from managed care organizations, and vice versa. These Proceedings include: