Building strategic partnerships between employers and managed care firms to enhance quality of care.

The challenges of integrating behavioral healthcare delivery and the demand for better management of behavioral healthcare benefits require corporate risk managers to focus on issues of quality and outcomes. A strategic partnership between the employer and a managed care organization is one tool for reducing risk and improving the quality of services for beneficiaries, using the techniques of total quality management. The following article describes a six-step process for launching such a strategic partnership, along with some potential pitfalls.