Escalating costs of medical and psychiatric care have prompted a
reevaluation of the health care delivery system and practice styles. There
are several "procompetition" or market-based solutions that seek to make
the consumer of care more price conscious and the provider of care more
cost conscious. Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), preferred provider
organizations (PPOs), the growth of for-profit hospital systems, and the
expansion of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are reshaping the
organization and financing of psychiatric care. Psychiatry's adaptation to
the new medical economics must emphasize the quality of patient care.Abstract Teaser