by Dr. Peter S. Tippett, CEO of careMESH
Dr. Peter S. Tippett, CEO of careMESH
For decades,
interoperabilityhas been a dirty word for hospitals and health systems. No matter how much they have worked at it, paid for it, and thrown IT resources at it, return on investment has been difficult to prove. This has been especially true when executing a community physician alignment strategy to expand care collaboration with unaffiliated physician groups to drive new referrals and revenue into the hospital.
The first step in many physician alignment programs is to formalize partnerships, acquire outside practices, or set up community physicians on the same instance of the hospital’s electronic health record (EHR) platform. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BCPI) program have promoted business models to help expand value-based care with the goals of increasing care efficiency and profitability. In some cases, these regulatory changes and commensurate technological innovation have made it possible for systems to realize new revenue, help to drive clinically integrated networks, and achieve Medicare Shared Savings in the millions of dollars per year.