Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) play a key role in coordinating health care services for Medicare beneficiaries. These organizations have largely become consumer driven, making marketing and health care consumerism central to their success. By offering and marketing evidence-based, patient-centered services and initiatives, ACOs can better connect with consumers. For this Assignment, you examine the services and initiatives for an ACO in the state of Kentucky.

To prepare:

• Select an ACO from the website ACOs in the state of Kentucky in this week’s Learning Resources.
• Identify evidence-based services/initiatives that the ACO is using.Note: To determine if services/initiatives are evidence-based, go to http://innovation.cms.gov/
• Consider the following:
  • Is the ACO using services/initiatives that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recognize and for which they offer reimbursements?
  • How does the ACO market these services/initiatives to increase health care consumerism?

The Assignment

In a matrix, analyze evidence-based services/initiatives that the ACO you selected is using for each of the following:

• Quality of care
• IT
• Marketing
• Financial outcomes
• Population health programs
• Vertical versus horizontal integration
• Operational excellence

Include whether the ACO is using approaches that CMS recognizes for reimbursements and how these initiatives/services increase health care consumerism.

Synthesize the information you have gathered from your analysis so that each bullet point clearly represents the most significant considerations within each category. While this is a 1-page document that might appear to be simple, each point must be the result of deep and critical thinking.

Resources:

Walston, S. L. (2014). Strategic healthcare management: Planning and execution. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
Chapter 10, “Development and Execution of a Strategic Plan” (pp. 250–255)
Note: This chapter was assigned in Weeks 1 and 4. Please review the selected portion of the chapter for this week.

Wayland, M. S., & McDonald, W. G. (2016). Strategic analysis for healthcare: Concepts and practical applications. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
Chapter 12, “Boston Consulting Group Matrix” (pp. 87–90)
Chapter 13, “General Electric Matrix” (pp. 93–96)
Chapter 14, “McKinsey 7S Model” (pp. 99–102)
Chapter 15, “Life Cycle Analysis” (pp. 103–108)

Al Badi, K. S. S. (2014). Segmentation and evidence of relationship-building activities in life insurance companies’ websites. International Business Research, 7(10), 133–144. Retrieved from the Walden http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ibr/article/view/40661/22507

Angood, P., & Birk, S. (2014). The value of physician leadership. Physician Executive, 40(3), 6–20.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2016). ACOs in your state. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/sharedsavingsprogram/ACOs-in-Your-State.html 

Chi, W. C.-H., Wu, S.-J., & DeVries, A. (2014). Value-based purchasing’s effect on quality and costs. Health Affairs, 33(4), 723.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

DeCamp, M., Sugarman, J., & Berkowitz, S. A. (2015). Meaningfully engaging patients in ACO decision making. American Journal of Managed Care. Retrieved from http://www.ajmc.com/journals/AJAC/2015/2015-vol3-n2/Meaningfully-Engaging-Patients-in-ACO-Decision-Making

Dol, N., Bakar, E. A., & Said, A. M. (2015). Consumer legal literacy, values and consumerism practices among members of consumer association in Malaysia. Asian Social Science, 11(12), 189–199. Retrieved from http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/view/48394/26118

Gilman, M., Adams, E. K., Hockenberry, J. M., Wilson, I. B., Milstein, A. S., & Becker, E. R. (2014). California safety-net hospitals likely to be penalized by ACA value, readmission, and meaningful-use programs. Health Affairs, 33(8), 1314–1322.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Hendriks, M., & Rademakers, J. (2014). Relationships between patient activation, disease-specific knowledge and health outcomes among people with diabetes; a survey study. BMC Health Services Research, 14, 393–401.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Hrešanová, E. (2014). ‘Nobody in a maternity hospital really talks to you’: Socialist legacies and consumerism in Czech women’s childbirth narratives. Sociologický Časopis, 50(6), 961–985.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Klimontowicz, M. (2014). Customer-centricity evolution as a foundation of bank’s competitive strategy. Journal of Economics & Management, 16, 45–59.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Macfarlane, M. A. (2014). Sustainable competitive advantage for accountable care organizations. Journal of Healthcare Management, 59(4), 263–271.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Mikkers, M., & Ryan, P. (2014). “Managed competition” for Ireland? The single versus multiple payer debate. BMC Health Services Research, 14, 442–457.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Rader, C. S., Subhan, Z., Lanier, C. D., Brooksbank, R., Yankah, S., & Spears, K. (2014). CyberRx: Emerging social media marketing strategy for pharmaceuticals. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing, 8(2), 193–225.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

van der Zanden, L. D., van Kleef, E., de Wijk, R. A., & van Trijp, H. C. (2014). Understanding heterogeneity among elderly consumers: An evaluation of segmentation approaches in the functional food market. Nutrition Research Reviews, 27(1), 159–171.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

van Dijk, C. E., Venema, B., de Jong, J. D., & de Bakker, D. H. (2014). Market competition and price of disease management programmes: An observational study. BMC Health Services Research, 14, 510–518.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

20% or lower plagiarism report

Wenzel, M., Henne, N., & Zöllner, Y. (2014). Beyond the pill: The move towards value-added services in the pharmaceutical industry. Journal of Medical Marketing, 14(2–3), 91–98.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.

Zeckhauser, R., & Sommers, B. (2013). Consumerism in healthcare: Challenges and opportunities. AMA Journal of Ethics, 15(11), 988–992. Retrieved from http://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/2013/11/oped1-1311.html
Zechhauser, R. & Sommers, B. (2013). Consumerism in healthcare: Challenges and opportunities in AMA Journal of Ethics, 15(11), 988–992. Used by permission.

Zlatic, T. D. (2014). Mixing metaphors in pharmacy education is a bad solution for students. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 78(10), 1–6.
Note: Retrieved from Walden Library databases.