There are more than 500 public and private accountable care organizations in the United States, and the number is growing. Here are five key statistics on ACOs based on data from the Health Intelligence Network surveying 200 healthcare companies.
1. Forty percent of the ACOs took a year or less to create their model; 33 percent took one year to 18 months.
2. Physicians are running around 24 percent of the ACOs; independent physician associations are running 7 percent. Hospitals run just 5 percent of the ACOs while health plans run 20 percent.
3. When the survey was given, 31 respondents said most of the ACOs were in the Midwestern region of the country.
4. The metrics to measure ACO success include:
•Provider satisfaction: 51.5 percent of organizations
•Patient satisfaction: 87.9 percent
•Clinical outcomes: 84.8 percent
•Health utilization: 63.6 percent
•Health claims: 57.6 percent
5. The challenges for ACOs include gaining staff buy-in, technology, clinical integration and cost. However, the benefits show care coordination, evidence-based care, physician and payer alignment and patient satisfaction.