HSCI 618 Strategic Planning In Health Administration

Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) play a key role in coordinating health care services for Medicare beneficiaries. These organizations have largely become consumer driven, making marketing and health care consumerism central to their success. By offering and marketing evidence-based, patient-centered services and initiatives, ACOs can better connect with consumers.

Accountable Care Coalition of Caldwell County, LLC, is recently recognized by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program beginning in April 1, 2012. Accountable Care Coalition of Caldwell County, LLC is intended to improve the coordination and quality of care for the Medicare patients for the reduction of Medicare expenditures growth. The selected ACO in North Carolina is working closely after being recognized by CMS to help patients in navigation of healthcare system and encourages more collaborative healthcare and savings. The recognized ACO has served 375,000 patients in 27 Shared Savings Program in around 18 states in United States. CMS has recognized that the ACO Company is on right track in reaching its goal in expanding patient access to healthcare services, improvement of care coordination and achievement of improvements in affordability, quality and patient satisfaction. Medicare offers value-based reimbursement and administration of alternative payment models (APMs) for the healthcare providers in ACOs based on positive medical outcomes (Freeman, 2017).

The two main initiatives taken by this selected ACO towards increasing consumerism are reduction of costs and improvement of quality that help to enhance patient experience. The organization is trying to respond to the growing consumerism trend with consumer-centric approach where the consumer is first, being the top priority and focus on customer’s best interests. The immediate access to care is the innovative approach like telemedicine for immediate physician and paramedics for potentially risked patients are some of the innovative approaches for enhancing and promoting best interests of patients in healthcare services (Filer, 2016).

References:

Filer, J. J. (2016). Price shopping and the future of consumerism: since the advent of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which gave employers an insurance market exit strategy in the form of public exchanges, industry analysts have been predicting the demise of employer-sponsored health insurance. Healthcare Financial Management, 70(4), 26-27.

Freeman, K. (2017). Accountable Care Gaining Momentum in North Carolina | North Carolina Medical Society. Ncmedsoc.org. Retrieved 31 October 2017, from https://www.ncmedsoc.org/accountable-care-gaining-momentum-in-north-carolina/