MANUAL-BASED TREATMENT AND CLINICAL-PRACTICE

This commentary focuses on the three components involved in the therap eutic process, the therapist, the treatment process, and the consumer, and addresses the impact of manual-based treatment on all three from the perspective of the managed care industry. The issues of concern in managed care include reducing the variation in practice, addressing t he need to have effective case-mix adjustment, increasing accountabili ty to the consumer, recognizing that not all care and not all practiti oners achieve therapeutic objectives, and responding to accreditation initiatives. The implications for training new practitioners are exami ned.