Not just any hospital can take the accountable care organization plunge. Relatively few hospitals and healthcare systems currently are positioned to form ACOs today, Hospitals & Health Networks magazine reports.
One thing that is holding hospitals back is physicians. If the hospital does not employ most of its physicians, it will need to work with physician organizations that employ enough to make a difference, as ACOs must care for at least 5,000 patients in accordance with the Affordable Care Act.
One option would be to have a very well-structured physician hospital organization, or independent practice association with a track record of success, says Thomas Enders III, managing director of the healthcare group at consulting firm CSC. "If you don't have that, you can't deliver on the requirements of an ACO," he says.
While great patient care is important, a major factor that can affect the success of an ACO is the quality of a hospital's relationships with physicians' healthcare organizations outside the hospital walls, such as outpatient clinics, palliative care and home care services, Becker's Hospital Review reports.
Another important factor for hospitals is building enough market clout to lure physicians into an ACO and hang onto patients, Dr. Lisa Bielamowicz, national physician practice leader of the Advisory Board Co., a consulting company, told HHN. While a 200-bed hospital on the edge of a major urban area might find it hard to aggregate providers and manage patient care across the continuum, if that same 200-bed organization is in a small to medium-sized market, "it could be positioned strongly to aggregate providers and become a successful ACO," she says.
To learn more:
- read the Hospitals & Health Networks article
- here's the Becker's Hospital Review article
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