It is debatable if March truly “went out like a lamb” this year, particularly from a healthcare IT perspective.
Last week, on March 31, the United States Department of Health and Human Services announced the release of the proposed rule for the development of accountable care organizations, also known as ACOs. This development, although primarily related to patient care and the provider experience, will ultimately have an impact on healthcare IT — in particular the adoption of electronic health records incentivized by Meaningful Use as well as other healthcare information exchange developments.
For those interested in learning more about accountable care organizations or are looking to collaborate among a community of influential industry leaders, tonight from 8-9 p.m. CT, HL7 Standards will be hosting a special edition of its weekly #HITsm Tweet Chat with an ACO focus.
For chat participants, or new users looking to join the conversation, the following are a preview of the questions that will be asked this evening. There are additional resources indicated that will be helpful to reference during the discussion:
Would you consider ACOs another form of managed care or a community hub of wellness?
Who do you believe ACOs will primarily benefit? Is it the hospitals, doctors, insurers or the patient?
What road blocks do you foresee in ACO development? Are there any proposed elements that signal concern?
You can find a link to the PDF of the Accountable Care Organization Proposed Rule here. For resourceful article, check out ACO Rule Outlines ‘Gains And Risks’ For Doctors, Hospitals; it provides an extensive list of various articles on ACOs.
Other information on the tweet chat can be found at Fox ePractice and tweets recently posted under the #HITsm hashtag can be found on the Tweet Chat aggregator. (For new users, Tweet Chat seems to be the most popular tool used to follow along the chat.)
As always, if you have any questions about the chat, feel free to comment directly on this post or message @HealthStandards on Twitter for more information.
