Monitoring the birth of an industry
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH When ‘Acting Administrator’ of CMS Don Berwick gleefully announced the final rule guiding the development and Federal certification of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) on October 20th, 2011, he thereby officially unleashed the power of the largest single payer for healthcare services in the United States to simultaneously govern while informing …
Continue reading “4th National ACO Summit: Some Contextual Reflection”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH Day two for me started in Track 6: Engaging Patients in their Medical Care, titled ‘Patient Engagement in Healthcare Decision Making‘ breakout session moderated by Shannon Brownlee (@ShannonBrownlee), Senior Vice President, Lown Institute; Former Acting Director Health Policy Program, The New America Foundation; Author, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making …
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH Year four for the annual DC gathering of the best and brightest minds in the ACO space, convened yesterday in pre-conference sessions at the Hyatt Regency, DC. Day 2 kicks off with a keynote by Senator Ron Wyden @RonWyden, followed by a power packed tour de force of ACO operatives: …
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH We previously (see: National ACO Patient Engagement Benchmarking Survey) brought attention to a national patient engagement bench-marking survey wherein @ACOwatch collaborated with Dave Chase, et al at Avado to field an instrument. While at ‘The ACO Must…’ Towards an Operational Definition of ‘Patient Engagement’ we addressed the indica of patient engagement as well as the statutory context of Section …
Continue reading “Patient Engagement and ACOs: A Timely Union or Cute Ad Copy?”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH In the litany of ‘whitepapers’, client briefings and less than useful ‘look at me’ marketing pieces that have hit the web since passage of ACA, here is one that is worth the look. Principally authored by Martie Ross of PYA, the title is simply ‘Medicare ACO Roadmap’. Tomorrow on ‘this week …
Continue reading “Medicare Shared Savings Program: A Road Map”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH There are those trying to figure out how to best ‘build out’ if not perfect (as in the Pioneer class) an ACO, while an even larger pool ‘leaning’ in the direction of playing, are focused on the mechanics of the application process. As with the ‘interface model’ that’s kept the …
Continue reading “CMS Call: Tips on Submitting Application for Medicare MSSP ACO”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH Most of us watching and trying to interpret the ACO tea leaves are both challenged yet determined to assimilate a coherent picture of what’s happening at the ‘industry zeitgeist’ level. As noted previously, once you’ve seen one ACO, you seen one ACO. Since there is ample confusion from the differences …
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH I just finished chatting with the instigator of the Florida Association of ACOs (FLAACOS). Nicole Bradberry, CEO. Nicole’s story in part tracks back to the first meeting of the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), where she got the idea to build a state level resource for identify and share best practices, drive …
Continue reading “Meet the Florida Association of ACOs (FLAACOS)”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH For some ‘IPA‘ is about conversation and spirit enabled conviviality often in micro-breweries scanning the daily options for consumption. While for others IPA conjures up images and memories of labored if not painful efforts to steward the phased transformation of the American healthcare [non]system from a production oriented fee-for-services silo …
Continue reading “Time for a New ‘IPA’? The Independent Patient Association”
By Gregg A. Masters, MPH At the end of the [business model and strategic positioning] day, it’s all about the intangible but mission critical ‘C’ word, i.e., culture, and whether two traditionally oppositional styles (physician v. hospital) can mash-up and ‘meaningfully integrate’ (clinically, legally & workflow wise) where previous attempts during the 80s and 90s …
Continue reading “Are Institutionally Led ACOs ‘DOA’? I Say Heck Yah!”
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