PARTNERSHIPS FOR RESEARCH AMONG MANAGED CARE ORGANIZATIONS

Researchers within health maintenance organizations (HMOs) need to cre ate greater opportunities for collaborative research within their orga nizations. Multisite research will yield high-quality information for improving care. This paper describes situations in which competition a s well as collaboration are possible across HMOs in the current enviro nment. The paper considers the following questions: (1) What criteria determine if a project can be conducted as a multisite study; and (2) what population and organizational features should be considered when designing cross-site collaboration? The paper also discusses two impor tant trends in the larger health care environment: cost containment, w hich is both a challenge and an opportunity for health services resear chers working within managed care; and mergers and acquisitions, which are changing the face of the larger health care industry.