Accountable Care Organization Pioneers:
Connecting the dots between patients and health providers.
Health providers are teaming up to provide coordinated and seamless patient care,
which reduces medical errors and improves health care quality.
They're doing this by participating in Accountable Care Organizations,
frequently called ACOs,
one of several new models of care made possible by the Affordable Care Act.
Medicare patients with multiple chronic conditions no longer have to be their own care coordinators.
They now have a health care team that is connecting the dots for them.
Here are some inspiring stories from Accountable Care Organization pioneers
who are among the first to use this new approach.
When the Affordable Care Act came out and we saw the ACO provision,
I understood immediately it was a concept that doctors and hospitals
get paid for keeping people well, and so we jumped on it
from day one just because it seemed like the right thing to do.
The ACOs are the heart of the national strategy to reduce costs by keeping people well.
ACOs provide the glue between the system's touch points.
The patients will most immediately see an opportunity to have
their care coordinated in a way that it's not now.
It's hopeful that this kind of model will really help to create the glue
to put those pieces together so that it really makes sense to patients
that all of these touch points in the healthcare delivery system
that they are experiencing need to come together in a more coordinated way.
ACOs provide wraparound care and peace of mind.
The ACO is going to be good on a lot of different levels.
It's good for the patient, the individual. Our goal is to keep them healthy,
make sure that they feel taken care of. On another level, it's really important for their loved ones.
Most of us have parents now that are in the Medicare age range.
We want to know that they're part of a healthcare system, a group of doctors and a system,
a team if you will, that's looking out for them and that's the peace of mind I think for us as caregivers.
ACOs do not restrict patient choice.
The best thing about the ACO program is that these fee-for-service beneficiaries
get these benefits and they have no restrictions. Have no restrictions.
No HMO, no managed care restrictions and so it really is a win for the patients
and it's a win for the physicians as well. That's why we're excited about doing this.
ACOs improve health care quality and save money .
Doing the right thing for the right reason actually does result in a better patient experience.
It results in better clinical outcomes, and it does in fact save money.
And to see that there's groups all across the country that are
having the same experience that we're having, it even heightens my confidence
that this program is going to be successful.
ACOs improve communication and coordination between providers,
reducing admissions and keeping people healthy.
The team approach saves time and dollars and helps guarantee
that patients no longer receive too much, too little, or the wrong type of care.
Better health care quality. Better outcomes for patients.
ACOs are a win for patients and health providers.
