Are ACOs ready to be accountable for medication use?

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmaceutical Policy
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) aim to reduce costs and improve care through coordinated efforts.
• Optimal pharmaceutical use is a critical, yet often overlooked, component of ACO success.
• Challenges exist in integrating medication management into the ACO model.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the preparedness of ACOs to leverage medications for quality benchmarks and cost reduction.
• Evaluate ACOs' capabilities in maximizing pharmaceutical value.

Main Methods:

• An electronic readiness self-assessment was developed and piloted with ACO representatives.
• The assessment utilized existing survey questions and newly developed items.
• The survey was distributed to a convenience sample of ACO members.

Main Results:

• A 26% response rate (46 ACO representatives) was achieved.
• High readiness was reported for electronic prescribing (70%) and data integration (54%).
• Significant gaps were identified in quantifying cost offsets (7%), physician notification (9%), polypharmacy protocols (17%), and quality metrics (22%).

Conclusions:

• Developing robust medication management capabilities is essential for ACO success and patient outcomes.
• ACOs have adopted health IT but lag in utilizing it to its full capacity for medication optimization.
• Case studies are being developed to guide ACOs in addressing medication-related challenges and achieving the 'triple aim'.