One of the key provisions in the 2010 federal healthcare reform law focused on better coordination of patient care through the creation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).  The idea was to move away from the traditional fee-for-service model in which a patient might get multiple bills from different providers of diagnostic or treatment services. 

Under an ACO, those providers would team up to treat an individual patient across care settings, including doctor’s offices, hospitals, and long-term facilities.  The Medicare Shared Savings Program will reward ACOs that lower health care costs while meeting certain quality standards. 

 ”For too long, it has been too difficult for health care providers to work together to coordinate and improve the care their patients receive,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last April.  “That has real consequences: patients have gaps in their care, receive duplicative care, or are at increased risk of suffering from medical mistakes.   Accountable Care Organizations will improve coordination and communication among doctors and hospitals, improve the quality of the care their patients receive, and help lower costs.”

Now, after tinkering with the rules and incentive programs in 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency administering the voluntary ACO program, is ready to accept applications.   Analysts expect the first ACOs to launch in April.   The results will be followed closely by healthcare organizations throughout the country to see if this concept will make a difference.  But with its goals of lowering cost and providing more coordinated care, the ACO concept is clearly pointing the way to the future delivery of healthcare services.