We’ve been reading about ACO and there’s a debate going on about its pros and cons related to its benefits. There was a great post this morning I want you all to read.
http://www.emrandhipaa.com/emr-and-hipaa/2012/02/29/aco-model-risks-and-rewards/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EmrAndHipaa+%28EMR+and+HIPAA%29
Irrespective of the outcome all providers, physicians, doctors, and caretakers need to be read.
One way to be ready is to adopt technology that can ensure two things:
- Good Patient Care
- Reimbursement for that care
For the second part, current systems – EMR (Electronic Medical Record systems) and PM (Practice Management systems) seem to be quite adequate. I’m not so sure about their readiness related to the ACO model of reimbursement, i.e. incorporating risks and benefits related to quality of care provided to a community. As the article says, bad care = less reimbursement, good care = more reimbursement.
How does one measure good care vs. bad care? These models will emerge and change over time.
It is clear that the pace of change is rapid. Technology needs to adapt.
I think only Web-based EMR systems will be able to keep pace with the rapid change. The reason is that web-based EMR systems can make quick changes, and the benefit of these changes will be available to providers instantly. One more reason for adopting web-based EMR systems.
