There have been four or five seminal events in health care in the last 30 years and Rick Carlson has been at the roots of them all. The first was the evolution of HMOs in the late '60s and early '70s. Rick worked with Paul Ellwood, Jr., MD, and Interstudy at the source. Among other things, he was one of those responsible for coining the term health maintenance organization (HMO) and he drafted the original HMO Legislation. He continues to be a key analyst advisor and strategist to managed care organizations. The second event was the onset of serious and deliberative efforts to limit the medicalization of untoward experience and hyperinflation in medical care. By any measure, the cluster of movements embracing health enhancement, wellness, disease prevention, and self-care landscape is a third event, which has become a prominent feature of today's health care landscape. Again, Rick was there as a pioneer, serving as Chairman of the first California Council on Wellness and Physical Fitness, and as a consultant to major health organizations, foundations, and governments. The next movement is still evolving: developing and providing health and health care information for consumers in order to facilitate better and more rational decision making about health care needs. In this area, Rick has been very active, specifically serving as CEO and President of HealthMagic, Inc. from 1996 to 1998, and as a Board Member and Senior Advisor to Direct Medical Knowledge, Inc. The last tectonic shift is the mapping of the human genome and the tidal wave of implications for human health, the delivery of health care services, and today's health care delivery system. Anticipating these implications, Rick is a co-author of The Terrible Gift, which addresses these issues. He is working on a project, which initiated in Spring 2001, "Understanding the Human Genome: Implications for Public and Private Decision Making," sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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