What is managed care? How does it fit with the current modernization of health services? How should it be applied in particular contexts? "Managed Care and Modernization" is a handbook for healthcare managers and practitioners. Its primary aim is to give practical guidance on applying managed care techniques as part of the modernization of health services. David Cochrane and his contributors contextualize managed care, reviewing current policy and practice, and exploring the major challenges facing health services. Throughout, they are concerned to assist practitioners in service design, delivery and management to adapt the techniques of managed care to their own needs and contexts. They draw on key examples from both American and British experience to indicate how managed care works in practice and how important is its development to the modernization of health services. This book is essential reading for all those involved in healthcare reform.