Indianapolis-based Community Health Network is in the processes of developing an accountable care organization, saying it has a head start on other hospitals in the Indianapolis market, according to an Indianapolis Business Journal report.
The hospital not only held on to the primary care physicians it acquired in the 1990s, but in the last two years also added another 350 physicians, including specialists. The hospitals now has 550 physicians, either employed or with integration contracts, who receive some sort of incentive payments from the hospital for meeting certain quality and communication measures, according to the report.
Although specific regulations regarding the Medicare ACO pilot included in the healthcare reform law are not expected until the end of the year, the health system will move forward with its efforts. Although ACOs are aimed at decreasing the rate of hospitalizations, CHN CEO Bryan Mills has said that CHN's large number of outpatient facilities ensure that the health system will not have a conflict of interest when it comes to reducing hospitalizations, according to the report.
Read the Indianapolis Business Journal report on Community Health Network's ACO.
Read more coverage on ACOs:
- Atlanta's Cigna and Piedmont Medical Launch Georgia's First ACO
- Blue Shield of California, CHW and Hill Physicians Create ACO for Retired California State Employees
- 11 Things to Know About Accountable Care Organizations
The hospital not only held on to the primary care physicians it acquired in the 1990s, but in the last two years also added another 350 physicians, including specialists. The hospitals now has 550 physicians, either employed or with integration contracts, who receive some sort of incentive payments from the hospital for meeting certain quality and communication measures, according to the report.
Although specific regulations regarding the Medicare ACO pilot included in the healthcare reform law are not expected until the end of the year, the health system will move forward with its efforts. Although ACOs are aimed at decreasing the rate of hospitalizations, CHN CEO Bryan Mills has said that CHN's large number of outpatient facilities ensure that the health system will not have a conflict of interest when it comes to reducing hospitalizations, according to the report.
Read the Indianapolis Business Journal report on Community Health Network's ACO.
Read more coverage on ACOs:
- Atlanta's Cigna and Piedmont Medical Launch Georgia's First ACO
- Blue Shield of California, CHW and Hill Physicians Create ACO for Retired California State Employees
- 11 Things to Know About Accountable Care Organizations