The era of accountable care. Industry experts weigh-in on the status of ACOs.

The guiding principle behind accountable care organizations (ACOs) is a simple one: Coordinate health services to maximize efficiency and facilitate better patient outcomes. Providers would be paid for the results they produce, not simply for the care they provide. Over the years, these coordinating groups of practices have gone by many names, but it wasn't until the reforms of the Affordable Care Act that ACOs began to take their present form, focusing on meeting new patient satisfaction benchmarks and reducing the financial burden caused by patients receiving unnecessary services. While the hype for ACOs promised better care quality and increased revenue, the reality of ACO launches has seen mixed results. Health Management Technology asks two industry experts for their views on the present and future of the accountable care model, now that ACOs have become a reality.

Pediatric Accountable Care Organizations: Insight From Early Adopters.

Partly in response to incentives in the Affordable Care Act, there has been major growth in accountable care organizations (ACO) in both the private and public sectors. For several reasons, growth of ACOs in pediatric care has been more modest than for older populations. The American Academy of Pediatrics collaborated with Leavitt Partners, LLC, to carry out a study of pediatric ACOs, including a series of 5 case studies of diverse pediatric models, a scan of Medicaid ACOs, and a summit of leaders in pediatric ACO development. These collaborative activities identified several issues in ACO formation and sustainability in pediatric settings and outlined a number of opportunities for the pediatric community in areas of organization, model change, and market dynamics; payment, financing, and contracting; quality and value; and use of new technologies. These insights can guide future work in pediatric ACO development.