title: Health promotion in an HMO. Ad astra per aspera.
abstract: The shift in emphasis towards disease prevention and health promotion is forcing changes in the traditional health provider model. At Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHC), a 349,000 member staff model HMO, consensus development on health promotion issues is the responsibility of a permanent Committee on Prevention (COP). By spreading the workload over multiple subcommittees that involve cross-sections of the medical, nursing, and other professional staff, the COP has prepared the groundwork for a number of major health care decisions at GHC. The COP has also been the starting point for programs such as the GHC Breast Cancer Screening Program, colon cancer screening, a senior influenza immunization program, and an institutional ban on smoking.
mesh_terms: D003659:Decision Making, Organizational; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011367:Professional Staff Committees / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014861:Washington