Uncategorized

The greatest barriers to ACO success are start-up costs and staff positions to perform Chronic Care Management (ccp). ACOs face increased initial costs in healthcare IT and staffing.(6) As such, many ACOs are looking outside of their organizations to contract

The ACO model is advantageous in other areas, as well. ACO success is most notable in the reduction of duplicate services and readmissions. This has yet to translate into large savings, but many experts say that it is too early

ACO success is most prominent in the optimization of medication use practices. As CMS shifts to non-monetary evaluations, medication adherence is a common metric utilized to track progress. Recent reports have confirmed that ACO achievements are strong in this area.

Every year the CDC issues guidelines for influenza vaccines in its efforts to decrease the spread and severity of influenza.(6) Despite the warnings and guidelines, aIn an effort to lower costs and experiment with different incentives and systems, CMS created

Medicare preventive medicine covers an Annual Wellness Visit (AWV) and much more.(4) These benefits include, but are not limited to: Cardiovascular Disease ScreeningBone Density ScreeningPneumococcal VaccineDiabetes ScreeningCancer ScreeningsDepression ScreeningGlaucoma ScreeningInfluenza Virus Vaccine Despite the availability of these services, AARP estimates that less

Preventive medicine is many faceted and encompasses a wide-variety of programs and specialties. The aim of these efforts is twofold. One is to reduce the incidence of disease, or primary prevention. The second is early diagnosis and treatment, or secondary

In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their 1999-2014 statistics on Cancer Incidence and Mortality. Once again, breast and prostate cancers topped the charts. The good news is that early detection is driving survival rates up.(1)

Like all of Medicare’s Quality Payment Programs, CMS evaluates ACO Track 1+ on qualitative performance. Connect Care Plus provides services that meet all four quality-measure categories. The biggest component of Connect Care Plus’s service is care coordination. Implemented through the

Although a one-sided model is no longer available, the risk in ACO Track 1+ is much lower than other programs. CMS also added popular features of Tracks 2 and 3 to offset the costs. More importantly, switching to Track 1+

Track 1+ is open to ACOs currently participating in Track 1 or new ACOs, but not Track 2 or 3 participants. By lowering the loss-sharing rate and providing more flexibility, CMS is hoping to attract physician-only groups and rural hospitals.