For accountable care organizations (ACO) to succeed in their goal of providing improved care at reduced cost, participants are being asked to use data to more effectively manage populations of patients. This means not only a shift in mindset for involved practices but also likely enhancements in technology and staffing to help make that happen.
For starters, practices that want to take part in ACOs should optimize their use of electronic health records (EHRs) to be much more than a repository of data, according to Physicians Practice. Practices that already have become accredited patient-centered medical homes will have an edge in this respect because they're already using EHRs to track, analyze and improve the health of patient populations, said family physician Dick Salmon, Cigna's national medical director who oversees its ACO program. Their EHR usage goes "beyond just documenting what happened with the patient visit," he added.
Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/7vv8q23
Source: FiercePracticeManagement
ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
Read More
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
Managed Care Reflections: A Q&A With Hoangmai H. Pham, MD, MPH
April 1st 2025To mark the 30th anniversary of The American Journal of Managed Care® (AJMC®), each issue in 2025 will include a special feature: reflections from a thought leader on what has changed—and what has not—over the past 3 decades and what’s next for managed care. The April issue features a conversation with Hoangmai H. Pham, MD, MPH, a member of AJMC’s editorial board and the president and CEO of the Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC).
Read More