Accountable Care Organization, Healthcare Big Data, Healthcare Portal, and ACO Implementation Resources
FEATURED ARTICLES: ACO
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Secure Texting Streamlines Clinical Communication
A Canadian hospital installs a secure texting solution to facilitate physician paging and to provide more details about consulting cases.
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Protect Yourself From RACs Through Your EHR System10/21/2013
EHRs may help providers avoid RAC audits by maintaining a comprehensive record of physician activity By Greg Bengel, contributing writer
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Onward And Upward – Predictions For 201412/17/2013
It’s hard to believe we are already closing out another year! With 2014 upon us, I took some time to reflect on what progress the healthcare industry made in 2013, and to contemplate what’s to come in the year ahead. This year, we saw increased investment in technologies to support gains in the efficiency and quality of patient care, and I really think that 2014 will be a year of continued evolution. By Terry Edwards, president and CEO, PerfectServe
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IT: The Only Certainty In Healthcare's Future4/1/2011Dell’s survey indicates that much of the uncertainty in the industry is thanks to healthcare reform. For example, virtually all hospital executives surveyed are worried about how states will cope with an expanded role in healthcare financing through Medicaid and other programs required under reform.
CASE STUDIES & WHITE PAPERS
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How To Get Paid For Meaningful Use: 7 Tips From The EHR Trenches8/10/2012
In this white paper athenahealth provides tips to make sure your practice will receive its incentive payment for implementing a system compliant with Stage 1 Meaningful Use (MU).
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Improving Quality And Reducing Costs In A Medicare Shared Savings Program And ACO Environment4/16/2014
Over the past decade, the healthcare system in the United States has been increasingly encumbered by an aging population, the burden of chronic disease, and economic pressures. In response to this confluence of events, federal healthcare reform has stimulated the public and private sectors to bend the cost curve and improve performance.
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ACO Efficiently Manages Population Health With The Help Of Gateway EDI10/2/2012
With a local network currently uniting more than 150 providers and 250,000 patients, United Medical is well on its way to changing the health care landscape in Delaware.
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Accountable Care Organization Technology Framework2/20/2014
The “accountable care organization” (ACO) is a major topic of discussion in American health policy. While the ACO label has been around since 2006, it was mentioned in numerous healthcare reform bills proposed in 2009 and was ultimately included in Section 3022 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) as the Medicare Shared Savings Program. The ACA’s ACO provision covers Medicare ACOs.
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK
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The Problem With Consumerism In Healthcare
Many industry leaders championed a free market approach to healthcare during the 12th Annual World Health Care Congress last week. Here are a few key reasons why I don’t think this model is “the fix” our industry so desperately needs.
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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ACOs Face Interoperability Barriers2/8/2016
According to a new report, a lack of out-of-network interoperability is the biggest obstacle facing ACOs today. By Katie Wike, contributing writer
ACO NEWS ARTICLES
- Upcoming Webinar: Data-Driven Care: The Key To Accountable Care Delivery From A Physician Group Perspective
- 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