Managed care research: moving beyond incremental thinking

Health services research face a major challenge in interpreting the rapid changes manifesting in the area of managed care. The revolution in managed care brings with it short- and mid-term changes that researchers must also deal with, even if they have evaluated the long-term ramifications. The development of a research agenda promises to be fruitful if a focus is made on several key areas such as the links among the elements of the health care delivery system and on medical care delivery at the patient level.