Assessing Provider Partnerships For Accountable Care Organizations

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Healthcare Management
• Accountable Care

Background:

• Accountable care contracts incentivize improved healthcare cost and quality.
• Effective population management by ACOs requires comprehensive care across diverse provider types.
• Novel partnership arrangements are crucial for ACOs to manage populations effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand current provider approaches for evaluating partnerships under accountable care contracts.
• To develop a framework aiding Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in assessing their partnerships.
• To identify best practices for ACOs in managing provider collaborations.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature review on high-value healthcare organizations.
• Convening an expert panel to refine the partnership framework.
• Conducting qualitative interviews with ACO representatives and healthcare providers.

Main Results:

• Limited research exists on a holistic view of healthcare provider competencies for partnership evaluation.
• ACOs are actively engaged in forming provider partnerships and developing best practices.
• A gap exists in resources to help ACOs identify and fill competency gaps through strategic partnerships.

Conclusions:

• ACOs require a robust framework to evaluate potential partners and achieve cost and quality goals.
• Developing effective provider partnerships is essential for successful population health management.
• Policy recommendations are provided to facilitate better and more effective provider partnerships.