Insights
- FIPA
- New ‘Sunshine Act’ Requirements Will Track and Publish Financial Relationships Providers Have with Healthcare Vendors
- While ACO Care Coordination Holds Promise for Improving Quality and Lowering Healthcare Costs, It’s Still a ‘Work in Progress
- Is a Patient-Centric Approach to Clinical Laboratory Management the Best Way to Move from Volume to Value?
- Whole-Genome Sequencing, Offers Quick, Accurate Test for Diagnosing Diseases Caused by Single-Gene Mutations
- Opportunities for Engagement by Clinical Laboratories and Pathologists
- UnitedHealthcare Partners to Form Large, Multi-System ACO in Wisconsin
- American Esoteric Laboratories Partner with the Department of Defense
- Revisiting the Benefits of Outsourcing Courier and Logistics Needs
- HIPAA Violation Fines Increase - How to Avoid
- Interface Fees & The High-Cost Charged By EHR Companies
- PathX LIS Earns High Marks From TissuePathology.com
While ACO Care Coordination Holds Promise for Improving Quality and Lowering Healthcare Costs, It’s Still a ‘Work in Progress
Healthcare Experts Now Exploring New Care Coordination Strategies and Overcoming Gaps in Measuring Performance
For many healthcare professionals, the jury is still out as to whether accountable care organizations (ACOs) will prove effective at delivering the two important goals of improved patient outcomes at a lower overall cost of care over an extended period of time.
That is why close attention is being given to the experience of Medicare’s Pioneer ACOs, since they were among the first ACOs to begin delivering clinical services. In particular, physicians and hospital administrators want to learn useful lessons from the successes and setbacks of the different Pioneer ACOs.
By improving the coordination of care, accountable care organizations are expected to provide patients with better care while reducing healthcare costs. That’s why the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Shared Savings Program is structured to pay ACOs financial incentives or impose penalties, depending on whether performance quality measures and healthcare spending targets are met.