Dive Brief:
- Many existing Accountable Care Organizations are formed by hospitals and insurance companies, with their leaders having the final say in the business.
- This model may detract from ACOs' success, as physicians resist change when they see physician leaders in subordinate roles, according to a Harvard Business Review blog post.
- To empower physicians, set up you ACO as a nonprofit organization which includes doctors on its board, alongside of hospital, health plan and community representatives.
Dive Insight:
This take on ACO governance is so sensible, it ought to be a no-brainer. How can an organization which relies on physicians to be responsible for quality push those physicians aside when key decisions get made? In fact, I'd go far as to say that if existing ACOs don't move further in this direction, they'll collapse under their own weight. Ultimately, physicians not only need to be ACO partners, they deserve to be.