Accountable Care Organization, Healthcare Big Data, Healthcare Portal, and ACO Implementation Resources
FEATURED ARTICLES: ACO
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![Private Exchange Enrollment]( "UnitedHealthcare Shuffles Management Team On Eve Of Open Enrollment")
UnitedHealthcare Shuffles Management Team On Eve Of Open EnrollmentLeadership team revamped as UnitedHealth poises itself to play in ACA marketplaces. By Christine Kern, contributing writer
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What Really Happened At HIMSS143/18/2014
A look back at the sights and sounds of HIMSS14, from Keynote Speeches to the (really big) show floor By John Oncea, editor
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The ACO 'Guinea Pigs'1/12/2012
On December 19, 2011, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) selected 32 healthcare systems to take part in the new Medicare Pioneer accountable care organization (ACO) initiative. 80 systems actually submitted formal applications to take part of the program. By Ken Congdon, editor in chief, Health IT Outcomes
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Obamacare Signups Pass 11 Million Mark2/18/2015
In a video posted on Facebook, the White House announced that 11.4 million individuals had either signed up or re-enrolled for healthcare via the exchanges. But that number was accompanied by a number of caveats. “The Affordable Care Act is working,” President Obama stated in the video. “It’s working a little better than we anticipated. Certainly, I think, working a lot better than many of the critics talked about early on.” By Christine Kern, contributing writer
CASE STUDIES & WHITE PAPERS
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White Paper: Transforming IT For Accountable Healthcare5/5/2011This February 2011 white paper looks at the impact of ARRA and PPACA on provider organizations and the role IT can play in preparing healthcare providers for future success in the evolving landscape. An IDC Health Insights White Paper sponsored by HP
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IT Infrastructure: A Foundation For Accountable Care Organizations8/11/2011The advent of healthcare reform will require a health information technology infrastructure that integrates all the “moving parts” of an ACO, including hospitals, physicians, labs, outpatient centers, claims and analytics.
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Achieving Success With The 5010 / ICD-10 Change-Over2/8/2012SuccessEHS is a nationally acclaimed vendor providing Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management solutions with Integrated Medical Billing Services.
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
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![Ken Congdon, Editor In Chief of Health IT Outcomes]( "Is Technology To Blame For Physician Burnout?")
Is Technology To Blame For Physician Burnout?According to a recent Medscape survey, 46% of physicians say they are burned out. How much is the drive towards health IT adoption contributing to this epidemic?
ABOUT ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS (ACO)
An Accountable Care Organization (ACO) utilizes a payment and care delivery system that bases payments to providers on quality metrics and seeks to reduce the total cost of care for a certain population of patients. ACOs use a range of payment models and consist of groups of coordinated healthcare providers that provide care to groups of patients. ACOs are accountable to a third-party payer and the group of patients for the appropriateness, quality, and efficiency of the health services they provide.
In 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) set forth initial guidelines for ACOs to be created under the Medicare Shared Savings Program. These guidelines contained all necessary steps required for a physician, health care provider, or hospital to voluntarily participate in ACOs.
The quality measures used to evaluate an ACO's performance as defined by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) fall into five domains. These domains are patient/caregiver experience, care coordination, patient safety, preventative health, and at-risk population/frail elderly health.
The three stakeholders in an ACO are the providers, payers, and patients. Providers are a network of hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare professionals. The primary payer is the federal government, Medicare, but also includes other payers such as private insurances or employee-purchased insurance. The patient population of an ACO will primarily consist of Medicare beneficiaries, but in larger ACOs can also include those who are homeless and uninsured.
FEATURED NEWS
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Population Health Cuts Anthem ACO Costs By Nearly $8 Million6/30/2015
Anthem’s program provides doctors with additional payments if they lower the cost of patients’ care. By Christine Kern, contributing writer
ACO NEWS ARTICLES
- WEDI Releases Guide On HIPAA Transactions Requiring ICD-10 Codes
- Automated Quality Reporting Through EHRs Can Result In Significant Efficiencies And Care Improvements
- CMS Releases Updated Data On EHR Adoption
- West Florida ACO Chooses Sandlot Solutions As Partner In Patient Health Information Management
- Importance Of Evidence-Based Medicine Presented In New Issue Brief Available From Elsevier