Study: Physician leaders key to ACO success

Physician leadership is critical to foster change within accountable care organizations (ACOs), according to a Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice study published in the June issue of Health Affairs.

The researchers conducted a national survey of ACOs from October 2012 to May 2013 and found that the majority (51 percent) identified as physician-led, with another 33 percent jointly led by physicians and hospitals. In 78 percent of ACOs, physicians constituted a majority of the governing board, and physicians owned 40 percent of ACOs.

In all, physician-led ACOs were more likely than their counterparts to collect and report quality and financial data, and had more advanced IT capabilities.

"Physicians' buy-in to payment reform is likely to be critical to the success of healthcare reform. The findings suggest that physicians are taking seriously their responsibility to lead change in the healthcare system on behalf of their patients,” wrote Elliott Fisher, MD, MPH, director of the Dartmouth Institute, and colleagues.

“[T]he challenge of fundamentally changing care delivery as the country moves away from fee-for-service payment will not be accomplished without strong, effective leadership from physicians,” the authors also concluded.