This is a sponsored post by Vision Source, a supporter of NewGradOptometry & new graduate optometrists! 😎
It's no surprise that healthcare in the United States, as we know it, is changing! Buried in the ~2,300 page health care reform bill are 7 pages dedicated to accountable care organizations (ACOs). Although a small portion of the bill, ACO's will have a significant impact on your professional life!
What are ACOs?
- Formed by the Affordable Care Act as a way of decreasing healthcare costs
- A group of doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers who provide coordinated, high quality care to their Medicare patients
- Providers are responsible for the health of their patients and are financially rewarded based on their ability to save health care dollars by focusing on preventative care
- 14% of the insured population is involved with an ACO including 4 million Medicare enrollees and 428 provider groups as of April 2014
The Effects of ACOs on healthcare
- A strong emphasis towards patient centered, high quality care measured via:
- Patient/caregiver experiences
- Care coordination
- Patient safety
- Preventative health
- At risk (elderly) population health
- An emphasis on performing more efficient testing within the fee-for-service model
- Better overall reimbursements for physicians that keep patients healthy and out of the hospital
- Improved communication between health care providers to avoid unnecessary duplication of services and preventable medical errors
- More hospital systems, less individual providers and what could lead to less provider options for patients
The Effects of ACOs on optometry
- A large focus on access to patient care and referrals
- Practices that are excluded from their local ACOs may see a large impact on their bottom line
- Increased opportunity in early detection and disease management
- Greater government control of healthcare delivery by standardization of services through penalizations and incentives
- Independents must keep current on administrative requirements to avoid audits
- Re-evaluate office procedures and use electronic medical records to improve efficiencies
- Increase patient satisfaction = increased reimbursements
Why is Vision Source Membership important in this new health care environment
- PCPs that are members of ACOs need cost effective and efficient eye care for their patients
- Nearly 3,000 locations in all 50 states, Vision Source, as the largest group of independent doctors.
- 70+ healthcare delivery relationships - there will be an estimated 7 million patients coming into their vision source practices due to these 70+ relationships
- Vision Source has instituted programs like "Refer a friend" to put Vision Source offices in areas with low/no coverage in order to expand the independent network and create appeal for ACOs
- Local VS community groups meet regularly to share and react to the current healthcare landscape
- Education on ICD-10, Meaningful Use and HIPAA
