Journal explores ACOs and mobile health
The latest issue of the American Journal of Accountable Care delves into technology and patient engagement’s role in delivering quality care at lower costs.
Letting patients communicate with their physician via email, iPads or laptops can transform care delivery for those with chronic conditions, according to Krista Drobac, executive director of the Alliance for Connected Care, and Clif Gaus, president and CEO of the National Association of ACOs. Findings show that telehealth can reduce hospital readmissions 75 percent, compared with traditional care after a hospital stay, according to their article, “Connected Care Is Key to Accountable Care: The Case for Supporting Telehealth in ACOs.”
They argue that Congress should pass legislation to expand Medicare reimbursement to ACOs that use telehealth.
Evaluating the success of healthcare based on what patients report, especially in the area of quality of life, has slowly gained ground as an important way to determine if doctors and hospitals are doing a good job, said Robert M. Kaplan, PhD, chief science officer for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, who wrote in the journal that evaluating care from the patient’s point of view may lead to different conclusions.
“The central premise of patient-centered outcomes research is that the goal of medicine and public health is to lengthen human life, and/or improve its quality during the years that people survive,” he wrote.
The June issue of AJAC also features coverage from the first live meeting of the ACO and Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition, which discusses best practices.
Read more here.