Monitoring the birth of an industry
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH I am regularly amused by some in the popular press as well as guerrilla social media theater (myself included in that bucket) by the continued doubt if not outright dismissal of ACOs as the central spine if not fulfillment DNA of ‘the new, new thing/imperative’, i.e., to manifest the ‘triple aim’ as the sustainable …
Continue reading “ACOs, ‘HMO lite’ or ‘DNA of the Transformation’?”
By David Harlow, Esq. Much has been written and said about the effect of the election on the implementation of federal health reform initiatives. The commentariat, including the blogerati and twitterati wings, have focused on the budget battles of the future to come from Capitol Hill, the flurry of regulations to come from HHS, and …
Continue reading “‘ObamaCare’ Lives: Ladies and Gentlemen Start Your ACO and HIE Engines”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH I’ve been pondering the ‘where is the ACO smart money’ question for a while as in its answer lies greater clarity than the current high ‘noise to signal’ ratio experienced by many. Since we witness a range of opinion on whether the healthcare industry can self correct via proactive conscious …
Continue reading “Smart Money, ACOs and Risk Savvy Medical Managers”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH In the sea of collective opinion via both pundit and ‘boots on the ground do’ers’ reported in trade group, popular and growing insights proffered via social media, one of the narratives centers on can ACOs really make a difference? In other words, is meaningful reform of the failing volume driven …
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH For a taste of the proceedings, check out the video mashup below: Overview of the ACO Congress Since the Second National Accountable Care Organization Congress in November 2011, the ACO trend has demonstrated great momentum. As of June 2012, there are more than 200 ACOs identified in the U.S., a …
By Jim Frederick, Senior Editor/Pharmacy, Drug Store News New, holistic models for integrated, patient-centered care are emerging from the fog of health reform almost as fast as you can say “accountable care organization.” But pharmacy and retail clinic operators aren’t waiting for ACOs to fully ripen; they’re forging new alliances with hospital-based health systems and …
Continue reading “Bricks and Sticks or Vision and Values? Building the ACO”
Dr. David Ballard, Chief Quality Officer and Senior Vice President at the Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, TX and Executive Director of its Institute for Health Care Research and Improvement, introduces a series of articles appearing in the August 2012 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings where he shares a 3-part interview with 3 leading …
Continue reading “Transformational Potential of Medicare ACOs – Part 1”
Note: An Opinion Piece By Gregg A. Masters, MPH If you were not dialed into the first presidential debate tonight, you missed a rather tortured, poorly moderated, POTUS failed series of opportunities to credibly discredit his health reform ‘etch-a-sketch’ opponent. In the post debate punditry, and fact checking, this one is likely to ascend to …
Continue reading “Yes We Can? No, He [POTUS] Didn’t. Not Tonight.”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH Courtesy of Clive Riddle and MCOL aka @M_C_O_L, author, consultant and long term managed care industry verteran reflects on the ACO environment, unbundles and expounds on the range of entrants in the ACO space and reports on the status of the playing field as of the May 2012 data point. …
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH David Blumenthal, M.D., MPP, Former National Coordinator (2009-2011) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and seasoned health policy wonk opines on ACOs. Further details and balance of Dr. Blumenthal’s credentials below: In this video, Dr David Blumenthal, Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine and Professor of Health …
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