What will managed care and health care delivery look like 50 years from now? Doctors and hospitals will be linked into provider organizations. Physicians will play a significant role in the leadership of these organizations. Patient records and medical data will be entirely digital. Interactive systems will link patients to their doctors, allowing much care to be delivered in the home.

Data systems will create a knowledge base of the most effective treatments, allowing substantial uniformity of treatment for most conditions. Physicians/hospital/home health organized delivery systems will be held accountable for the cost and quality of the care they deliver based on national standards.