Key Physicians’ 220 primary care doctors and WakeMed are planning to work together toward a healthier community by helping patients better manage their health.
This will be accomplished through the creation of a new Medicare Shared Saving Accountable Care Organization (ACO) called WakeMed Key Community Care.
This ACO will focus on reducing healthcare costs and improving quality in both the traditional Medicare program and in private insurance programs.
ACOs work by shifting reimbursement of healthcare from a fee-for-service model where doctors get paid for each service they provide to a value-based approach. Using a value-based approach, providers share one flat reimbursement from Medicare or private insurance for care, making them more accountable for the cost and quality of care delivered.
In other words, in an ACO doctors and hospitals have a direct financial incentive for reducing costs, improving quality, ensuring care is coordinated, and using resources wisely with every patient contact. (Want to know more about ACOs? See the links below)
John Rubino, MD, president of Key Physicians explains, “Population health improvement strategies enhance physicians’, hospitals’ and managed care organizations’ ability to share health information and resources for the benefit of the patient. Communication with the patient and between healthcare providers helps reduce duplication of services, limits unnecessary tests, eases transitions from hospital to home and helps patients maintain good health. Successful ACOs deliver positive results for patients, the community and healthcare providers.”
“In this era of health reform, care across the continuum must be focused on delivering quality and value to the patient. To accomplish this, it is extremely important to develop comprehensive models of patient care that rely on providers developing solutions to address acute care episodes as well as the overall health of a population through wellness, disease prevention and well-coordinated care management,” expounds Bill Atkinson, WakeMed president & CEO. “This collaboration will uniquely benefit patients by bringing together the valuable health resources of the community in a more coordinated way to provide the right care, at the right time, in the right setting, and at the right price.”
Key Physicians is an organization of more than 220 independent physicians located in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston Counties. More information on Accountable Care Organizations:
Obamacare Shows Hospital Savings as Patients Make Gains
Bloomberg News – June 12, 2013
Accountable Care Organization Fact Sheet
Healthcare.gov
Will accountable care work for you?
Wall Street Journal – January 29, 2013
Accountable Care Organizations, Explained
NPR – January 18, 2011
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