Practice options.

Abstract

If Laredo pediatric allergist Gladys Keene, MD, and her husband, otolaryngologist Roger Keene, MD, had their druthers, they would maintain the solo practices they have had for the past 20 years. But they know changes in the form of managed care are coming to the border city, and medicine as they know it will never be the same again. Preferred provider organizations have already captured about 20% of the Laredo market in the past 2 to 3 years, and health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and capitation are not far behind.