title: Countering HMO marketing practices. Questions for patients and physicians to ask before joining.
abstract: The target here is not the HMO, but the method in which HMOs are marketed: by smooth-talking representatives who promise maximal care for minimal cost, and who underestimate the intelligence or take advantage of the inexperience of the patient and the private physician. In an attempt to protect consumers, and also physicians who consider joining an HMO, a list of questions is presented for both groups. Fifty probing queries should furnish prospective patients with the necessary information. Three questions and eleven commandments are suggested for physicians and their own protection.
mesh_terms: D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D003657:Decision Making; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000592:standards*; D010934:Planning Techniques; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States