Investing for value-based care

To quickly make the transition from fee-for-service to value-based care, accountable care organizations must figure out where to invest and take cues from those which have mastered the model.

This is an era of “heavy-duty strategies and tough decisions,” said J.D. Whitlock, director of clinical and business intelligence at Catholic Health Partners, during a presentation at the Healthcare Business Intelligence Forum hosted by HIMSS Media and Healthcare IT News on April 16. (Healthcare Finance News is a division of HIMSS Media.)

To be successful in the current scenario hinges on the ability of hundreds of ACOs to learn quickly from the organizations that have mastered ACOs –  organizations like Geisinger Health System, the Mayo Clinic and Kaiser Permanente.

Organizations like this have invested heavily in electronic health system technology. ACOs that are trying to make the transition to value-based care need to figure out where to invest their technology dollars, Whitlock said.

Core options are investing in deploying – and subsidizing for affiliates – a centralized EHR capable of at least some population health management or deploying a private HIE capable of clinically integrating many disparate EHRs and a comprehensive population health management platform. “You probably aren’t going to be able to afford both,” he noted.

ACOs also need to invest in their analytics team, said Whitlock, which should include a healthy mix of junior and senior analysts and those with claims data and clinic expertise. Ideally, it’s best to get clinical and claims analytical capability in the same person, but that’s hard to find, so organizations might need to grow that dual capability in individuals over time.

This story is based on a report appearing on Government Health IT.