ACOs: what’s in for patients?

Since the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) passed in 2011, the number of Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) in the United States went from 64 to 744. It is expected that by 2025, ACOs will cover over 150 million people. But what do we really know about these new organizations managing our health and how is it going to affect us?

Technically, ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that work together to deliver high quality coordinated care. They are a vehicle to achieve the triple aim set by the Obamacare: reduce the cost of care, increase patient satisfaction and improve measurable health outcomes. But ACOs are complex. From new payment models to rewarding systems, value-based care and cooperation structures, the chances a common patient truly understands the way these organizations work are quite low. And yet, they are at the center of this new model. Therefore, how are ACOs changing the way we perceive and receive care?

Let’s get to real benefits for patients. Imagine a situation where you need to schedule an appointment with your doctor. You call him but he is out on vacation. In the tradition care model, you would have to wait for the doctor to return and only then be able to see him. This can take a few weeks as the doctor will probably be very busy on his or her return, and you might have an urgent situation that can’t afford waiting. With the new accountable model, you can simply see another doctor that will have access to your medical records, your health history, your current treatments and the evolution of your condition. The doctor will have all the necessary elements to take informed decisions, avoiding mistakes and miscommunications. This sharing of medical records also allows patients to schedule an appointment for the same day or the next day, even on weekends and evenings, as other doctors might be available at that time.

This is possible thanks to the new coordination model between providers. If you need to see different specialists, they can prescribe a treatment coherent with the other’s decisions. You won’t have to fill out as many medical forms with the same questions anymore and you don’t have to repeat medical tests since the results can be shared between doctors. Bureaucracies and administrative processes are actually simpler with ACOs.

If your doctor is part of an ACO, not only you’ll be notified, as you will also notice that there will be an extra concern with your personal preferences at the time of prescribing a treatment. Now that it’s easier to access your health records, treatments and test results, you’ll finally be part of the decisions, which makes sense since it’s your own health.

All these benefits are made possible thanks to technological innovation. Not only to achieve coordination, but to empower patients to be more involved in their own health. We’ll leave you with six trendy patient-oriented services ACOs are now offering:

1. Electronic Health Records so patients and providers can access them anytime, anywhere (including test results);
2. Summaries of the latest visit to the doctor so that patients can review their treatment;
3. Patient portals to access health data and communicate with doctors;
4. Electronic prescriptions directly transmitted to the patient’s pharmacy;
5. Solutions for adherence to medication, remote monitoring and self-diagnosis (devices, apps, programs).