acos medical definition
As hospitals develop strategies around clinical care redesign and health care reform, we frequently get asked how clinical integration (CI) relates to other terms heard commonly in this arena, namely the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and the accountable care organization (ACO). The second theme involving models of care in the PPACA is that of the Patient-Centered Medical. Home (PCMH). The goals of Patient-Centered Medical Homes are in alignment with the goals of. ACOs: to improve quality, decrease cost, and improve consumer satisfaction. The Patient-Centered. Accountable care organization. An accountable care organization (ACO) is a healthcare organization that ties payments to quality metrics and the cost of care. ACOs in the United States are formed from a group of coordinated health care practitioners. The ACO adopts alternative payment models (e.g., capitation). While unquestionably linked, each of these concepts has its own unique definition and purpose. In this post, I'll explore this question further, first defining CI, PCMH, and ACO as standalone concepts and then examining how the three are connected. With these definitions in hand, we can start to see how PCMH, CI, and ACO relate conceptually. In the most general of terms: PCMH focuses on care improvement for primary care services. CI focuses on care improvement for physician practices across specialty types. The ACO concept is one that is still evolving, but it can be generically defined as a group of health care providers, potentially including doctors, hospitals, health plans and other health care constituents, who voluntarily come together to provide coordinated high-quality care to populations of patients. Advance Payment ACO Model. The Advance Payment Model is designed for physician-based and rural providers who have come together voluntarily to give coordinated high quality care to the Medicare patients they serve. Coastal Carolina Quality Care is an ACO created to serve Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in North Carolina. Coastal Carolina Health Care, the ACO’s sole participant, is a physician-owned and operated medical practice with over 50 providers. The Origin of Accountable Care Organizations. The term Accountable Care Organization was first coined in 2006 by Elliott Fisher, MD, Director of the Center for Health Policy Research at the Dartmouth Medical School. The ACO concept immediately sparked a great deal of interest and debate. These changes and improvements are the foundation for the new models of care that are beginning. to gain momentum as the result of the PPACA. Three themes in the PPACA relate to emerging. models of care: 1) Accountable Care Organizations, 2) patient-centered medical homes, and 3) community-based care.
It is a healthcare organization that ties payments to quality metrics and the cost of care.