Let's face it: transitioning from volume- to value-based care is hard. Successful ACOs often hire teams of dedicated care coordinators, analysts, and administrators. A 2017 ACO Survey found that the average ACO spent $1.1 million on care management and an additional $60,000 in operating health information technology, analytics, and reporting. Even with such investments, Medicare ACOs, [...]
Keeping your ACO data clean Building trust with reliable clinical data By Larry Allen, MD, MGMA member, and Chuck Kandzierski, COO, Clinigence One of the biggest hurdles to overcome for physician-led accountable care organizations (ACOs) is faulty clinical data. Most ACOs’ population health efforts gather data from disparate member practices. If clinical data [...]
The Untapped Potential of Clinical Data The box office hit movie, “The Black Panther” takes place in a mythical country called Wakanda, whose secretive existence protects a highly valuable substance called “vibranium”. This fictional substance has power-absorbing qualities that make it impenetrable. In the movie, the Black Panther’s sister, Suri, engineers vibranium to [...]
Population Health Starts with One Ironically, many leading health IT vendors present their population health capabilities as ‘healing the planet’ or designed for ‘finding new cures’. While population health certainly has the potential to contribute to such noble objectives, the irony is that we have yet to address the basic challenge of [...]
Tis The Season for ACO Reporting! The holiday season is here. Decorations are going up, shoppers are flooding stores, and festive music reminds us that “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. As children eagerly compose letters to Santa, it’s likely that Accountable Care Organizations (ACO’s) have wish lists of their own. [...]
The "Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How" of MIPS can be confusing. MIPS combines several incentive reporting programs into one. The “Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How” of MIPS can be confusing. The good news: it’s not too late to gather information and prepare for MIPS! In fact, you have time [...]
Thinking about MIPS & Quality Measures? 34% of Clinicians are accountable for MIPS - You're not alone. Thinking about MIPS? You’re not alone. The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) phenomenon is significant in terms of the number of providers who will be contemplating a strategy. Putting MIPS into perspective, consider that approximately 34% [...]
Collecting Data Is a Challenge Imagine having to collect more than 30,000 data points spread across many offices, multiple IT systems and, in some cases, stacks of paper. Imagine having to complete this process in 10 weeks with a limited staff of nurses and analysts. Sounds crazy or familiar? For accountable care organization (ACO) [...]
Featured White Paper: ACO Performance Models Introduction Population health management requires a rigorous analysis of both cost and quality. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and commercial payers have taken the unprecedented step of providing claims data to their participating Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), but they are unable to provide even [...]
In an update fact sheet released May 27, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that as many as 1,500 primary care practices will be eligible to participate in both the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and the new Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) program. The announcement was a reversal of [...]