Question

A hospital and an independent physician association (IPA) comprising 600 physicians have elected to apply to participate in the accountable care organization (ACO) program sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The hospital and IPA will agree to provide healthcare to a minimum of 5000 Medicare beneficiaries. Because the individual entities are required to report to Medicare as one entity on 33 quality metrics, including seven patient encounter caregiver experience elements, the ACO is interested in facilitating the widespread adoption of electronic medical records within the ACO. Accordingly, the hospital intends to provide assistance to the individual physicians to obtain electronic health records. In addition, the individual physicians will be required to achieve Meaningful Use and comply with policies and procedures of the ACO. Regardless of the electronic health record they would like to purchase, the individual physicians will be required to exchange health information electronically to improve effective communication between healthcare providers, reduce duplicate visits, and lower the overall cost of delivering care to the Medicare beneficiaries.

4. Discuss the implementation specifications that each individual healthcare provider as a member of the ACO must implement within his or her own facility and as part of a larger ACO to protect the security, confidentiality, privacy, and integrity of patient information.

Answer 1

Implementation specifications that each individual healthcare provider as a member of the ACO must implement within his or her own facility and as part of a larger ACO to protect the security, confidentiality, privacy, and integrity of patient information are----

- Each organization must have to implement Accountable Care Organization Structure.

- It should be:

• Accessible: Right to access to those only whom the data can be safely provided by proper means & should be served at the right time.

• Accurate: To the point & specific data & complete.

• Confidential: Exposed only in safe hands.

• Timely: Data should be organized in timely manner to avoid error, late, duplication of work.

• Privacy of the data should be maintained.