It’s all the rage. Everyone is talking about it and some have called it the next major healthcare reform to hit the industry over the past 20 years. So what is it you ask? It is the Accountable Care Organization model, more commonly dubbed the ACO. No doubt everyone has been reading, learning and commenting on what the ACO can and could do for the healthcare industry. Some have already started pilot projects to bring participants together to form ACO collaboratives. All of these initiatives are important elements of the birthing and growing of a new industry model/concept for healthcare.
As many realize, the chasm between ACO and now is enormous. There are a number of tasks ahead for healthcare organizations just to enter the front door of ACO: new organizational roles, operating and legal agreements, and rules for operation and security provisions. However, these will not be the most critical investments that organizations need to consider as they move down the ACO path.
Unlike the other critical areas, IT has been a weak point in the healthcare marketplace. There are more gaps between the have and have nots as it relates to IT enablement. There are a number of infrastructure, architecture, and supporting solutions that will be required to make the ACO operational and enabled to achieve the goals and initiatives that have been agreed to by partners. The length of time to design, build, install, test, implement, and train to become a meaningful user has a longer lead time.
What do you think the largest IT challenges are for the ACO model? I invite you to view our approach to the “IT-Enabled ACO” on our healthcare microsite.
