HealthPartners, a large nonprofit managed-care organisation (MCO) in Minnesota, US, has introduced a number of disease management programmes aimed at reducing by 25% the number of heart disease events among at-risk members. At The Disease Management Congress*[New York, US; June 1997], Dr Richard Grey from HealthPartners discussed the different heart disease programmes that the MCO has put in place, and the progress of these programmes to date. One area that needs further development by MCOs, such as HealthPartners, is the issue of women's health and heart disease. Intermountain Health Care, in Salt Lake City, Utah, is one integrated healthcare system that is already addressing coronary artery disease (CAD) prevention in women. At the meeting, Dr Larry Staker and David Clarke discussed the importance of improving women's health and empowering women who have CAD.