The majority of physician practices are uncertain about joining or starting an accountable care organization (ACO), according to a survey.
Of nearly 400 hospital-owned and freestanding outpatient practices, 65% were unsure how to approach accountable care, a survey by Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Analytics found. About 13% of health providers said they expected to join an established ACO, while 14% planned to form an ACO, and 8% planned to create an ACO with a neighboring provider.
Brendan FitzGerald
HIMSS Analytics director of research Brendan FitzGeraldand his team surveyed 436 health providers during June 23–July 12, 2016, regarding electronic health record (EHR) adoption, accountable care, and health information exchanges, among other subjects. The respondents included physicians, practice managers/administrators, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and practice IT directors. Investigators also analyzed the HIMSS Analytics LOGIC database, which includes 47,084 hospital-owned practices and 57,909 freestanding practices.
Respondents also reported a high level of uncertainty around plans to join a health information exchange (HIE): 48% of health providers were unsure about whether to join an HIE, compared with 46% who were uncertain in 2015. Of respondents who plan to join an HIE, 10% plan to enter a hospital or health system HIE, 7% plan to enter a regional HIE, and 17% plan to join a state health information exchange.
As far as EHR adoption, nearly 78% of respondents representing a free standing outpatient facility (228 practices) reported having an EHR, a 30% increase since 2010. Data from the LOGIC database found 92% of hospital-owned outpatient facilities had a live and operational EHR. Of all survey respondents, 66% did not have plans to replace or upgrade their current outpatient solution, or purchase a new solution. Of health providers that planned to purchase a new EHR, 18% said they would be upgrading, 9% would be purchasing a new solution, and 7% would be replacing a their current EHR.
The survey shows that most doctors appear to be content with the EHR solutions they have adopted with no plans to change systems, said Mr. FitzGerald.
“The level of universal adoption is great, and it seems that physicians for the most part, are satisfied with the work they’ve done to implement and utilize these solutions the first time around,” he said in an interview. “While there may be some getting used to the process of using these particular solutions or even some functionality shortcomings, it seems likes physicians are moving forward with the solutions they have on hand.”
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