shape up, 1  to assume a specific form: The plan is beginning to shape up. 2  to evolve or develop, especially favorably. 3  to improve one's behavior or performance to meet a required standard. 4  to get oneself into good physical condition. ( 5 of longshoremen) to get into a line or formation in order to be assigned the day's work.
The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with a broad overview of managed care, including the scope and complexity of the issues facing nurses and consumers as the health care industry continues to consolidate and shift away from traditional fee-for-service financing.
Managed care is not merely a set of fashionable administrative technologies for controlling the use of medical care and the growth of health care costs; it has become the name for a transformation in the way health care is financed and organized in the United States.