Five health-related organisations in Florida, US, have joined forces in an effort to improve the quality of healthcare in their region. As a first step, the partnership is focusing its attention on the improvement of care for patients with gastrointestinal (GI) disease. A pilot project to test the impact of a disease management partnership approach to improving care is to begin soon. The decisions made in the lead-up to the pilot project were discussed during The Zitter Group Congress on Health Outcomes and Accountability [San Francisco, US; November 1996].