HMO development in an academic medical center: the rise and fall of a prepaid health program in New York city.

Through a documented case study the authors identify the critical factors that impede the introduction of prepaid medical care as part of education and practice within a prestigious and well established academic medical center. The inherent conflicts between individual fee-for-service practice and population-based prepaid practice and the resistance to innovations in medical care organization as they surfaced in that center, are presented. The need for a clear understanding of the complexities of HMO development and of an appreciation for the importance of a planning process in which all interested parties are involved, is emphasized. A clear commitment by policy makers, administrators and providers is highlighted as fundamental for the implementation of a system where practitioners are motivated to assume responsibility for the comprehensive care of a defined population that prepays for their services. The rewards as well as the difficulties for institutionalizing commitment to this form of health care delivery and impacting on medical education are discussed.