Health promotion in an HMO. Ad astra per aspera.
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.
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