Managed care involvement by cardiovascular specialists: prevalence, attitudes and influence on practice.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the involvement in and attitudes toward managed care by cardiovascular specialists and the influence of such programs on their practices.

Background: No in-depth study has measured the impact of managed care on cardiovascular specialists. Therefore, we conducted a mail survey to determine the prevalence of managed care arrangements among cardiovascular specialists and variations among pediatric and adult cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons; the types of managed care arrangements in which cardiovascular specialists are engaged; the reasons why those not participating in managed care have chosen not to do so; and the general attitudes among cardiovascular specialists with regard to various aspects of managed care.