ACO Population Health Management Summit

Encouraged by initial successes, many organizations are transitioning to an ACO model. However, ACOs are still very new and their long-term impact is largely unknown.

• Hear from an ACO that has created a successful structure
• Realize the impact of the ACO model on patient outcomes and quality of care
• Discover best practices to implement this new model and work together across organizations

When care requirements go beyond what a health care organization offers and patients move into post-acute care, ACOs look to SNFs and other facilities with similar values, goals, and strategies to optimize care for their patients.

• Learn ways to identify the best partners for post-acute care and ambulatory care
• Discuss strategies to collaborate with partners and encourage efficient, cost-effective care, despite conflicting priorities

Historically, a patient’s coverage and the requirements of their payer have partially influenced the type of care they receive. To prepare for reimbursement changes, we have seen a recent shift away from payer-based care and toward population health management; however, the health care industry is often slow to adjust to these types of changes.

• Explore ways to educate providers on the importance of considering population health
• Overcome challenges when changing workflows and decision-making processes

In the transition to population health management, data is essential to understand the health status and needs of a population and to identify areas for improvement.

• Understand how best to stratify populations based on their state of health or illness
• Utilize predictive analytics to target patients and prevent avoidable adverse outcomes
• Determine where to focus resources and produce the best ROI through data analytics

The ACO model requires numerous organizations and providers to communicate along the care continuum to ensure efficient, cost-effective care for patients. However, use of multiple electronic medical records and systems causes barriers and challenges to sharing data.

• Discuss strategies to overcome interoperability issues
• Incorporate technology into the workflow to minimize disruption and increase efficiency
• Explore distance-based medical technologies and uncover how they impact interoperability and patient care

Accountable care organizations are especially interested in the care their patients receive within and outside of their health care facilities, as it impacts patient outcomes, reimbursements, and bonuses. Coordinated care is essential to prevent duplication of services and ensure every provider is aware of the care plan.

• Discuss ways to ensure communication and efficiency when there are numerous case managers involved in a patient’s care
• Hear innovative solutions to improve care coordination, communication, and collaboration across providers

The demand for lower healthcare costs and improved outcomes has prompted a shift in favor of payment models that reward quality and value through patient-centered care. This has amplified the importance of emerging technologies to facilitate collaboration required to realize these goals. The implementation of such technologies, that assist in the management, optimization, and coordination of patient information for large populations, is showing particular promise. By deploying a state-of-the-art care coordination and referral management system developed by Infina Connect, North Carolina-based Key Physicians was able to streamline the referral process and ensure closed-loop communication and coordination between primary care and specialists. Since adopting the technology, Key Physicians has helped drive an impressive reduction in medical costs associated with their first accountable care contract by achieving an 83% referral rate to a narrow network of low-cost, high-quality providers in comparison to a 40% rate for their competitors.

• Understand the valuable role that narrow networks of high-quality, high-value providers are playing in achieving payment reform and describe the challenge for referring providers as these networks proliferate and change among payers.
• Discuss the current availability of technologies to groups who do not share a common EHR or HIE to enable them to perform effectively under new payment models
• Hear the technology capabilities that Key has found most useful, including automating narrow network selection and a means of sharing messages, referral status, and patient information electronically among their diverse practices and referral partners