Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are the reality of the business-side of healthcare and the recognition of the critical value of interdisciplinary patient care. But this corporate structure also includes the trust within the coveted physician-patient interaction that preceded digital health information.
Whether the clinic participates in an ACO, it’s clear that accountability has always been a cornerstone of the patient experience. While the outcomes-based goals of ACO are an important development, it is also representative of a new type of fragmentation in the healthcare experience. The in-network nature of the ACO model is as precarious for physicians as it is for patients. Exclusivity of participation among these stakeholders drives the health outcomes and therefore revenue for care.
Those in leadership roles of ACOs understand very well the importance of continuing to focus efforts on capturing and retaining patients within their circle of exclusivity for care. Independent physicians may find themselves in the position of having to choose between multiple affiliate hospital relationships in the midst of their EHR vendor relationship. Whether it’s for the important technical support for the development and continuity of use of the EHR or the continuity of care for their patients as needed throughout their experience, coordination of care rests within the EHR.
It is all of that data that in addition to driving the measures for health outcomes also represents the opportunity to empower patients in their continuing healthcare experience. Beyond the fragmented experience of the transactional clinic visit, the EHR is the gateway for everything from coordinating care among multiple providers over time to improving access and transparency for a patient’s medical records. What’s more, this is a key component of the next level of patient education beyond the general information that one can find easily with an internet search engine.
As we all find our way through higher levels of accountability in the healthcare experience, the coordination of electronic patient records that empowers the patient is the key. Physicians and their staff are in a position to engage in this new level of education with their patients in the midst of accountable care.
Regardless of the clinic’s participation in ACO, this is an important time to engage patients and their EHR data in a continuous patient experience. Much of that data is quite overwhelming to patients, so it’s much more than just a matter of granting them access.
The crisis/emergency care in the hospital experience is certainly still a reality of the patient experience. However, if accountable care is a goal in the clinic, it must then include proactive conversations about the myriad of technical patient data both in advance of and beyond that crisis patient experience.
The meaningful use of certified EHR technology has already changed the conversation about patient data in the patient experience, and yet so much opportunity to further define this interaction still rests between the physician and patient.
