How IT can help support successful ACO performance

Originally posted in Health Data Management

Innovation Care Partners (ICP) made headlines earlier this year when the ACO model was among a few that met Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) expectations, joining 31 percent of ACOs in meeting benchmarks and earning substantial savings.

While the ACO concept is still in its infancy, the example of ICP shows that the underlying idea behind ACOs—that care can be cheaper and better—is a good one, and cooperation and the right technology can make value-based healthcare models a functional reality.

One way ICP is driving down costs is through better care coordination in the emergency department leveraging TigerConnect, a secure messaging technology. ICP integrated the Orion Health HIE to TigerConnect to provide clinicians with real-time status alerts on patients. With this innovative integration, PCPs, care coordinators, and transition care managers are all alerted immediately when an ICP patient registers at the emergency department or for inpatient admission.

Read the full article here.