Accountable care organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare program have had their share of challenges making their finances work, and nowhere is that more true than for rural ACOs. “Rural ACOs have found out that there are some big adjustments that need to be made to the risk adjuster,” including in Medicare’s new ACO Realizing…
The Diabetes Eye Exam quality measure is commonly referred to as one of the most difficult care gaps to close. Since up to 50% of diabetic patients lack documentation of a retinal eye exam, ACOs and practices spend a significant amount of administrative time each year chasing charts to close this measure. At Topcon,…
Download Slides Value-based payment programs can achieve the aim of accountable care, which is to drive quality, improve care coordination and reduce care cost. So what does a successful VBP program look like in real life? In this session, we will discuss ways to design and implement an effective VBP program for Skilled Nursing…
Doctors have long known that factors such as food insecurity, housing instability, transportation problems and financial problems can impact a patient’s health. Patients who are now returning to physicians’ offices and hospitals for routine checkups, deferred elective procedures, prescription refills and more are presenting with conditions made worse by lost jobs and the struggle to…
Medicare Advantage beneficiaries whose primary care organization participated in a value-based payment model saw lower rates of hospitalizations, observation stays, and emergency department visits, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Value-based payment models incentivize providers to deliver quality care while keeping healthcare spending low. As stakeholders see positive results, Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans have shifted toward…
More than ever before, data drives the business of healthcare. The COVID-19 pandemic in particular brought statistics, data and analytics to the forefront. The healthcare industry saw real scrutiny on the sources of its data, as well as on the collection methods and analysis around it. This intensified the pressure to have accurate, streamlined and scalable data analytics capabilities…
The HIMSS Conference is history, but it generated conversations and ideas that should for some time. The HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition took place in Orlando last week, bringing together thousands of people and hundreds of sessions on healthcare technology and the transformation of medicine and healthcare. Here are nine key takeaways from a…
After George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, state governments and our health care system have increased attention to racism and its impact on health equity. There has also been heightened awareness that health equity is a problem for communities other than racial and ethnic minorities, including persons with disabilities, people residing in rural communities, non-binary…
Our recent analysis of Medicare Fee-For-Service claims data continues to confirm what we have believed for years—post-acute care plays an essential role in reducing unnecessary healthcare spend in the U.S. Shifts towards value-based care and an influx of baby boomer beneficiaries promises a multitude of opportunities for home health, hospice, and skilled nursing organizations to…
Some 50 percent of hospitals in the United States are racially segregated, meaning the patient populations they serve do not reflect the demographics of their communities, according to the latest analysis from healthcare thinktank Lown Institute which was emailed to journalists. This imperils national efforts for addressing health equity. The cities with the most racially…