Category: ACO

On the same day that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a report documenting significant cost savings among the program’s participating accountable care organizations, a national ACO association hailed the results, and called for new processes to spur additional achievement. On the heels of a report from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released financial results for select Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) initiatives, savings from both the Medicare ACOs and Pioneer ACOs totaled more than $380 million in savings in their first 12 months, the agency said. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released financial…

The following is a guest blog post by Cliff McClintick, chief operating officer of Doc Halo. Cincinnati-based Doc Halo sets the professional standard for health care communication offering secure messaging for physicians, medical practices, hospitals and healthcare organizations. The Doc Halo secure texting solution is designed to streamline HIPAA-compliant physician and medical clinician sharing of…

The collaborative payer model is a dynamic partnership between a payer and a medical organization, built on aligned incentives, shared control, transparency, and joint accountability. In Missouri, a health plan’s commitment to collaboration and information transparency has enabled it to achieve the Triple Aim “plus one.” As reimbursement cuts and other payment changes put intensifying…

For President Obama, the state of the political union … could be better. It is not only that the president’s political support is diminished; it is diminished, in large part, because of his main political achievement, the Affordable Care Act. Because of the way the law was sold — “you can keep your plan” —…

The Affordable Care Act will “significantly” increase the incomes of Americans who fall in the bottom one-fifth of the income levels, while slightly decreasing -; by .8% -; the incomes of senior citizens, a new study finds. …read more    

Backed by a $5.3 million granted from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of California, the Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will work to use IT and patient engagement to reduce the overall risk of harm in the intensive care unit. Backed by a $5.3 million granted from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation…

As the gateway to personalized medicine, genetic information offers the possibility of ensuring that patients receive the “right” medications that are tailored to them, according to the individual’s genetic makeup. In Nashville, Tenn., Vanderbilt University Medical Center has established itself as a leader in the discipline of pharmacogenomics that is making personalized medicine a reality…

Operational problems identified by Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) after their first full year in existence overwhelmingly involved the use and dissemination of data, according to a newly published survey from the National Association of ACOs read more …read more    

Health Outcomes Liaisons (HOLs) play a critical role in conveying a therapy’s safety and cost effectiveness to managed care groups. With billions in sales riding on effectively communicating with these organizations regarding products’ cost effectiveness and safety, the biopharmaceutical industry has turned to HOLs to fill this critical communication role. …read more