Regional Medical Programs in Search of a Mission

Abstract

Created five years ago, the Regional Medical Programs now have established organizations that cover the entire country. Private medicine is involved to a degree unparalleled in any other federal health program. In many cases the Programs have served to bring together elements of the health-care delivery system that have previously been isolated from one another. In other cases they have promoted the extension of recent medical advances out from the medical centers, improving the care given by private practitioners and community hospitals. Yet confusion exists over the mission of the Regional Medical Programs, and the means by which to achieve that mission. Particularly at issue is their role in changing, rather than simply upgrading, the existing health-care delivery system. It remains to be seen whether they are faced with a golden opportunity or an insoluble dilemma.