Academic Medical Centers: A Prescription for Success in an Era of Managed Care and Capitation.

For years Academic Medical Centers AMCs have symbolized technological advancements and specialization in patient care. Today, these institutions face a transition to managed care and radical changes in the financing of healthcare. These issues are not unique to the civilain healthcare industry. AMCs within the military must respond to many of the same changes. Their survival may rest on the ability to recognize they can no longer ignore trends that favor lower costs, less specialization and more primary care. This paper describes actions being taken at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, a 300-bed academic medical center at Fort Gordon, Georgia. The leadership is actively pursuing innovative ways of providing accessible, high quality, and affordable healthcare. In addition to examining changes currently taking place, recommendation are offered for new initiatives, particularly in the area of enrollment-based capitation. To survive, AMCs need strategies on how to operate in this era of managed care and capitation. Only through an understanding of the changing environment will AMCs prevail.