Mr. Lieberman said ACOs will rapidly increase in importance under healthcare reform legislation and cardiologists may soon be faced with a choice between multiple ACOs. He recommended cardiologists assess the stability of the patient pool, changes in the disease status of assigned beneficiaries, opportunities for lowering cost while improving quality and whether the cardiologists in the ACO will be tasked with acting as PCPs or specialists, according to the release.
He added that cardiologists who have integrated their practices and are employed by larger organizations may have the ACO decision made for them. A MedAxiom survey from earlier this year showed more than half of all U.S. cardiology groups have integrated with larger healthcare groups or are considering the move.
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