Care coordination and health IT interoperability are fundamentally entwined, with the bind becoming ever-tighter as hospitals, health systems and medical practices venture further into value-based care programs. On Jan. 11, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) emphasized its commitment in this direction with a wide-ranging announcement of accountable care organization (ACO) initiatives aimed at improving patient care while lowering costs.
HHS cited 2014 quality and financial performance results for Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP) ACOs, which show that participating entities are delivering better care. SSP ACOs that reported results in both 2013 and 2014 improved on 27 of 33 quality measures, said HHS, including patients’ ratings of clinicians’ communications, beneficiaries’ ratings of their doctors, screenings for tobacco use/cessation and high blood pressure, and use of electronic health records. HHS noted that SSP ACOs outperformed group practices on 18 of 22 quality measures. For the full article click here
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