scholarly journals Health Information Technology and Accountable Care Organizations: A Systematic Review and Future Directions

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Casey P. Balio ◽  
Nate C. Apathy ◽  
Robin L. Danek
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Health Information Technology ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Accountable Care Organizations ◽  
Accountable Care ◽  
Future Directions

Using health information technology to manage a patient population in accountable care organizations

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances M Wu ◽  
Thomas G. Rundall ◽  
Stephen M. Shortell ◽  
Joan R Bloom
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Data Integration ◽  
Health Information Technology ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Patient Population ◽  
Care Management ◽  
Accountable Care Organizations ◽  
Accountable Care ◽  
Electronic Health Record Data ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the current landscape of health information technology (HIT) in early accountable care organizations (ACOs), the different strategies ACOs are using to develop HIT-based capabilities, and how ACOs are using these capabilities within their care management processes to advance health outcomes for their patient population. Design/methodology/approach – Mixed methods study pairing data from a cross-sectional National Survey of ACOs with in-depth, semi-structured interviews with leaders from 11 ACOs (both completed in 2013). Findings – Early ACOs vary widely in their electronic health record, data integration, and analytic capabilities. The most common HIT capability was drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks, with 53.2 percent of respondents reporting that the ACO possessed the capability to a high degree. Outpatient and inpatient data integration was the least common HIT capability (8.1 percent). In the interviews, ACO leaders commented on different HIT development strategies to gain a more comprehensive picture of patient needs and service utilization. ACOs realize the necessity for robust data analytics, and are exploring a variety of approaches to achieve it. Research limitations/implications – Data are self-reported. The qualitative portion was based on interviews with 11 ACOs, limiting generalizability to the universe of ACOs but allowing for a range of responses. Practical implications – ACOs are challenged with the development of sophisticated HIT infrastructure. They may benefit from targeted assistance and incentives to implement health information exchanges with other providers to promote more coordinated care management for their patient population. Originality/value – Using new empirical data, this study increases understanding of the extent of ACOs’ current and developing HIT capabilities to support ongoing care management.

Performance of Accountable Care Organizations: Health Information Technology and Quality–Efficiency Trade-Offs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chenzhang Bao ◽  
Indranil R. Bardhan
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Health Information Technology ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cost Of Care ◽  
Accountable Care Organizations ◽  
Accountable Care ◽  
Trade Offs

Under a traditional fee-for-service payment model, healthcare providers typically compromise the quality of care in order to reduce costs. Drawing on data from a national sample of accountable care organizations (ACOs), we study whether financial incentives offered under the Affordable Care Act led to fundamental changes in care delivery. Our research suggests that effective use of health information technology (IT) by ACO providers is critical in balancing competing goals of quality and efficiency. Unlike hospitals that did not participate in value-based care initiatives, ACOs were able to generate better quality outcomes while also improving overall efficiency. Furthermore, ACO providers that used health IT effectively demonstrated better patient health outcomes due to greater information integration with other providers. In other words, ACOs created value by not only reducing the cost of care but also improving patient outcomes simultaneously. Our research provides a roadmap for practitioners to succeed in a value-based healthcare environment and for policy makers to design better incentives to promote interorganizational information sharing across providers. Our findings suggest that healthcare policy needs to incorporate appropriate incentives to foster effective IT use for care coordination between healthcare providers.

Evaluating the relationship between health information technology and safer-prescribing in the long-term care setting: A systematic review

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Clemens Scott Kruse ◽  
Michael Mileski ◽  
Rohan Syal ◽  
Lauren MacNeil ◽  
Edward Chabarria ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Health Information Technology ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Reduced Risk

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of health information technology (HIT) as an adjunct to increase safety and quality in healthcare applications is well known. There is a relationship between the use of HIT and safer-prescribing practices in long-term care. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this systematic review is to determine an association between the use of HIT and the improvement of prescription administration in long-term care facilities. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using the MEDLINE and CINAHL databases. With the use of certain key terms, 66 articles were obtained. Each article was then reviewed by two researchers to determine if the study was germane to the research objective. If both reviewers agreed with using the article, it became a source for our review. The review was conducted and structured based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. RESULTS: The researchers identified 14 articles to include in a group for analysis from North America, Europe, and Australia. Electronic health records and electronic medication administration records were the two most common forms of technological interventions (6 of 14, 43%). Reduced risk, decreased error, decreased missed dosage, improved documentation, improved clinical process, and stronger clinical focus comprised 92% of the observations. CONCLUSIONS: HIT has shown beneficial effects for many healthcare organizations. Long-term care facilities that implemented health information technologies, have shown reductions in adverse drug events caused by medication errors overall reduced risk to the organization. The implementation of new technologies did not increase the time nurses spent on medication rounds.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document