The momentum of value-based payments is growing. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently announced the addition of 124 new 2018 accountable care organizations, yet there’s one problem: the typical ACO won’t see savings until performance year three, and many hospital-led ACOs will struggle indefinitely.
Fortunately, Caravan Health partner ACOs are the exception. Our first year ACOs achieved more than $26 million in savings in 2016 alone, and more than 90 percent are on track for savings in 2017.
These outstanding numbers didn’t happen by chance. In our recent webinar, “ACO Playbook for Success,” chief executive officer Lynn Barr broke down the proven ACO methodology which helped our ACOs increase revenue while reducing the overall cost to care.
Ms. Barr, a seasoned veteran in accountable care, shared why the current hospital model doesn’t work for most ACOs and how, through a six step process, health systems can overcome these challenges.
Common mistakes she sees in the field include misconceptions about shared savings, over-worked physicians, strategies without effective execution and unsuccessful organizational engagement. Through extensive trial and error, Caravan Health has identified the strategies that produce the revenue and quality of care health systems need for sustainability.
The key elements Ms. Barr touched on include:
1. Focusing on execution, identifying new resources and adapting to change
2. Empowering population health nurses to take administrative burden off of physicians
3. Solidifying provider relationships to leverage hospital and physician strengths
4. Maximizing the power of claims and EHR data to prioritize resources and needs for improvement
5. Utilizing a scorecard to focus on goals and pinpoint areas of weakness
6. Integrating coding best practices to ensure credit is received for sicker patients treated
These elements were just the tipping points of a solid health system strategy.
watch the webinar, “ACO Playbook for success."