Dive Brief:
- As things stand, acute care providers have participated most heavily in ACOs, but post-acute providers are better positioned for this model, argue some experts.
- "A lot of post-acute, long-term care providers we work with are better positioned to manage costs and have a handle on what drives their costs," said Scott Park, principal and founder of Ohio-based Artower Advisory Services, at a recent webinar hosted by research and publishing firm Irving Levin Associates on post-acute care dissipation in ACOs.
- Acute care providers are seeking long-term care partners who can provide high quality care at lower cost, and long-term care providers are good at both that and managing chronic disease, experts note.
Dive Insight:
If post-acute and long-term care providers don't take the initiative, they'll soon be the tail rather than the dog when it comes to running an ACO. However, as webinar speakers pointed out, these sectors have skills that are greatly in need for ACO success, including strong care coordination experience, chronic care management and cost-effective care. There's clearly an opportunity here for post-acute and long-term care players to succeed the ACO world. Now's the time to take action.