Research contributions to improving managed health care outcomes.

Managed health care programs are beginning to look to findings from psychotherapy outcome research to help set policy, suggesting the need to consider outcomes research from the standpoint of usability or utility. It also provides an opportunity to integrate science and practice. Considering and applying outcomes in this context requires cooperation between scientists and practitioners, the willingness of each group to set aside guild agenda, and giving up favored but insupportable beliefs and practices on the parts of those in both scientist and practitioner camps. This type of cooperation may have mutual payoffs. This article considers some of the obstacles to this type of sacrifice and evaluates some of the potential costs of cooperating. It also provides perspectives on the new roles of psychological assessment and methods of outcome research that would provide a scientific basis for the function of managed health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)