The ACO Cheat Sheet for Hospital Marketers

A quick start guide for marketing accountable care

Up until recently, healthcare marketing was focused on service lines and specialty care. However, due to recent changes in health care reform, there has been a surge of wellness marketing that encourages patients to take better care of themselves. While this trend is gaining popularity across the healthcare spectrum, it is especially relevant to ACOs because under this new business model, physicians and organizations are paid more to keep their community healthy, not treat the sick.

In this issue of Protocol, we will review the basics of Accountable Care Organizations and how to transition your current marketing efforts from specialty services to community health.

What is an accountable care organization?

“An ACO is a network of doctors and hospitals that shares financial and medical responsibility for providing coordinated care to patients in hopes of limiting unnecessary spending” (Gold 2014, p.1).

ACOs were first introduced by Congress as a way to cut Medicare spending. Traditionally, Medicare operates on a fee-for-service payment model, which often results in unnecessary testing and procedures. In attempt to limit spending, ACOs offer bonuses to physicians and systems for improving care efficiency and keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital.

Under an ACO, healthcare success is measured by: improvement in community health, cost reductions, an improved and consistent patient experience, decreased hospital admissions/readmissions and length of stay, better patient outcomes and decreased wait time to see a specialist (Health Strategies & Solutions).

On the flip side, “[if] an ACO is unable to save money, it could be stuck with the costs of investments made to improve care, such as adding new nurse care managers. An ACO also may have to pay a penalty if it doesn’t meet performance and savings benchmarks” (Gold 2014, p. 2).

At the heart of efficiency is preventive and coordinated care. Preventive care focuses on wellness to keep patients healthy in between appointments and encourage them to take control of their personal health. Coordinated care is when a patient is managed by a network of physicians and hospitals who share information through an electronic health record.

Learn more in our white paper, Transitioning Marketing Efforts to the ACO Model.