Viewing health care as an integrated system.

Although still in its early stages, disease management is already proving to be effective in decreasing health care expenditures by increasing compliance and normalizing utilization patterns. For the greatest benefit to be realized over the long term, however, a disease management program must target the 80 percent of the identified population not yet in the action stage. Only by appropriate interventions designed to move individuals incrementally from stage to stage will disease management fulfill its promise of appropriately lowering health care costs by cutting across the established component system.