Chatter: ACOs, the ACA, and Pharmacists

“We’re in the era of ACOs [accountable care organizations], an era where whoever is providing health care is going to need to take responsibility for outcomes and costs across the spectrum of care.”

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Chief Executive Officer Paul Abramowitz, PharmD, FASHP

“The Affordable Care Act has opened a lot of eyes to what quality care can be, how it can be provided, and by whom. We’re building the evidence for new ways for pharmacists to improve patient health—and even to lower costs–and to prepare students for what is truly a new day in pharmacy practice.”

Lisa Kroon, PharmD, chair, department of clinical pharmacy, UCSF School of Pharmacy

“These results show that successful Pioneer ACOs have reduced costs for Medicare and improved the quality of care for their patients. The Affordable Care Act has given us a wide range of tools to realign payment incentives in Medicare and Medicaid, and these efforts are already paying off.”

CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, MHA, BSN, RN

“Population health management calls on caregivers to consistently offer efficient, effective, high-quality care and anticipate—instead of respond to–the health needs of patients. This new approach, which we will offer first to our employees and their families, is built on care coordination, proactive interventions that prevent illness, and collaboration with an array of community resources.”

Kathleen Kinslow, CRNA, EdD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of Aria Health

“Pharmacists can help patients and caregivers overcome barriers to effectively and consistently follow medication regimens.”

National Community Pharmacists Association Chief Executive Officer B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA

“A patient-centered system that’s focused on prevention and wellness, combined with the right incentives for physicians, will ultimately result in a healthier population and lower medical costs.”

Ron Menzin, MD, Cigna’s senior medical director for New Jersey

“Medication non-adherence and adverse events attributed to medications are a leading cause of hospital readmissions. Consequently, medication management has been described as an essential component of any discharge intervention. Medication reconciliation, adherence to discharge medications and longitudinally tracking medication use as patients move into the community are critical to improve patient health.”

NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger, BSPharm, JD

“Since a large number of patients depend on medication therapy for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, we believe that efforts to reduce non-adherence for statins can have a significant effect on addressing health care disparities, improving health outcomes, and ultimately reducing costs.”

Niteesh Choudhry, MD, PhD, associate physician, division of pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and associate professor, Harvard Medical School