Care Coordination

Becoming a successful Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization is no simple feat. Preparing for the application process can take months, even years, of work. Then, the organization must improve quality and reduce costs effectively, which takes dedication and…

Two goals in healthcare — coordinating care to improve patient outcomes and maintaining competition to reduce costs — are sometimes in conflict, according to a commentary in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Rep. John Dingell (R-Mich.) has issued a Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act guidebook for Michigan's 12th congressional district.

Independent physicians are less likely than their employed peers to believe accountable care will benefit their practice, according to athenahealth's 2013 Physician Sentiment Index.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is opening retail stores in strip malls to educate consumers about the new health insurance exchanges and help them enroll, according to a News & Observer report.

The Jackson (Tenn.) Clinic, a multispecialty group practice in western Tennessee, improved care quality and lowered costs in its first year as a participant in Cigna's collaborative accountable care initiative, the insurer's version of an accountable care organization.

Northwest Ohio ACO, the Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization formed as a joint venture between the Toledo Clinic and the University of Toledo Physicians, has partnered with Senior Independence, a Columbus, Ohio-based division of Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services.

Box Butte General Hospital in Alliance, Neb., is planning a $34 million expansion project, according to a Kota Territory ABC News report.

Many consumers in the U.S. don't understand traditional health insurance plans, according to a Journal of Health Economics study.

Louisiana State University Hospital in Shreveport announced it will add pediatric exam rooms to its emergency department, according to a report from the Shreveport Times.