title: The place of spirituality in managed care. Attending to spiritual needs can help managed care systems achieve their goals.
abstract: If managed care leaders are able to achieve their goals of enhancing total well-being within a capitated system of care, they must attend to the broad new societal interest in spiritual perspectives and find ways to integrate them into their structure of care. Imaginative and sensitive members of many professions, particularly those who acknowledge the value of spirituality in their own lives and are convinced of its value in healing, will likely spearhead this integrated movement. Promoting individuals' total well-being necessitates an acknowledgement that everyone has a unique personal spirituality that needs to be addressed at times of crisis, such as illness or hospitalization. Further, attention to the spiritual dimensions of problems that result in high healthcare costs, such as violence, alcoholism, and the fear of death, can help reduce those costs. The process of grief also needs to be addressed in healthcare settings, for professionals as well as patients, to enhance understanding, acceptance, and the quality of care. People recover and retain health through a balanced integration of physical, spiritual, and community aspects of their lives. If professional chaplains who have emphasized crisis and acute care in their ministry styles are to contribute to this integrative healing and its adoption into managed care systems, they may need to explore broader frameworks, holistic concepts of healing processes, motivations for self-care, and a personal holistic balance.
authors.affiliation: St. Joseph Medical Center, Tacoma, WA, USA.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Hilsman
mesh_terms: D017048:Health Care Costs; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012940:Social Problems; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States