Senate Bill 870, the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic Care Act of 2017, or CHRONIC Act for short, has passed in the Senate by a unanimous vote. Among other things, the bill, which was originally introduced in April by Senator Orrin Hatch (R – Utah), includes provisions that would expand Medicare coverage for telemedicine. Full…
Of the hundreds of conversations I’ve had this year about population health management, there is perhaps no question I get more than how to calculate the ROI of the incredible work many of you are doing to better manage patients and bend the cost curve. Since the impact of care management efforts is often articulated…
Accountable care organizations (ACO) are aimed at decreasing costs while improving quality of care but Massachusetts emergency department directors report an inability to meet ACO goals. Challenges with care coordination often stand in the way of hospitals meeting ACO objectives according to 62% of Massachusetts emergency department (ED) directors that responded to an Annals of…
Care quality, disease management, and genetic makeup are core parts of patient health. However, stakeholders must also acknowledge that patient health is much more than medical interventions. This is especially true with value-based patient care taking hold and key concepts such as health equity emerging. Understanding the different components of health equity is the first…
Accountable care may still be a relatively new model in some areas, but the numbers of ACOs are steadily increasing. There were approximately 660 ACOs in the U.S. in 2015. The number increased to 838 last year. Success, however, can be elusive. Only about one-fourth of U.S. hospitals entered into value-based contracts have been able…
Transforming a $3.2+ trillion dollar economy where approximately 1 in 5 dollars of GDP finds its way into the healthcare financing and delivery ecosystem is no small challenge. Decades of variably branded health policy initiatives from HMOs and PPOs to their arguably derivative reincarnated ‘brethren’ ACOs all presented with the promise of taming what remains…
July 13, 2017 – The National Business Group on Health (NBGH) recently identified the core competencies accountable care organizations (ACOs) should have at each stage of its development. The two resources from NBGH on ACO competencies are meant to help employers who are considering adding an ACO to their health coverage options. The scoring guide and…
The drive toward value-based care is requiring the healthcare industry to make a 180-degree turn from where we were just a few years ago. We’re moving away from a system focused on treating sickness to one that strives for wellness; from encouraging volume to demanding value; from filling beds to penalizing readmissions; and finally, from…
The terms “care management” and “care coordination” are starting to take on slightly different flavors in the health IT world as software companies create new offerings for the growing value-based care marketplace, says a new report by Chillmark Research. Healthcare organizations are exhibiting a growing appetite for patient management tools to support population health management…
In recent years, one of the most important initiatives in healthcare has been the focus on providing the highest quality of care at the lowest cost possible, all while ensuring a positive patient experience. It’s essential that organizations work together to determine which elements build the best system of care. My experience serving as the…