Accountable Care Organizations: Your Guide to Design, Strategy, and Implementation

Is the ACO strategy right for your organization? Accountable Care Organizations will help you understand the ACO framework and assess your readiness to embark on an ACO strategy. This book provides the structural blueprints, management skills, and cultural tools necessary to implement a successful ACO. Practical advice is bolstered with real world examples of leading healthcare providers that are pioneers in the rapidly changing world of accountable care. This guidebook is designed to facilitate critical conversations and decisions at all stages of the ACO development journey. Explore processes and structures and learn how to implement pilots to shape your own ACO delivery model. Each chapter includes takeaway points and tailored action steps for: (1) organizations interested in exploring the ACO concept, (2) organizations taking the first steps towards an ACO model, and (3) organizations already moving full speed ahead. This book will help you answer these questions and more: What does it take to become an ACO? What steps and actions should your organization take to implement an ACO strategy? How can organizational culture support your move to accountable care? How can you build a business plan to support an ACO strategy? What information technology is needed to implement an ACO strategy? How can an merging ACO best negotiate with third-party payers?