Memorial Hermann Accountable Care Organization to Participate in Medicare Shared Savings Program
Memorial Hermann Accountable Care Organization (MHACO), an affiliate of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and its physician network, MHMD, have been selected to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program as an accountable care organization (ACO), a new program sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Through the shared savings program, MHACO will work with CMS to provide Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with high-quality care, while lowering the rate of growth in Medicare costs through preventative medicine and careful management of patients diagnosed with chronic diseases. CMS will use robust quality measures to reward ACOs that achieve these outcomes.
In addition to Memorial Hermann’s 12 hospitals, numerous specialty institutes, and advanced outpatient facilities, MHACO is a 332-member provider network comprised of both independent physician practices and physicians employed by Memorial Hermann affiliates. These physicians are a part of the advanced primary care practices patient-centered medical home initiative developed by MHMD. MHACO believes a key factor in CMS’ selection of MHACO to participate in the shared savings program is use of the innovative advanced PCPs, built on MHMD’s clinical integration program that unites independent physicians of every specialty throughout the Houston area in a common commitment to quality and accountability.
“Working in partnership with MHMD, Memorial Hermann has been on the forefront of advancing the health of southeast Texans by delivering care that is coordinated, patient-centered, high-quality, and safe,” says Dan Wolterman, president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. “The selection of MHACO as an ACO will give us an opportunity to be accountable for the stewardship of a large population of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. MHACO will leverage clinically-integrated physicians and technology to improve and deliver quality outcomes, while at the same time providing better value to healthcare consumers.”
MHACO has the potential to reach the lives of close to 100,000 people in the Houston region as the initiative expands its roster of primary care physicians. The care coordination and communication among physicians and other providers participating in MHACO’s network will benefit from the Memorial Hermann Information Exchange (MHiE), an encrypted electronic network that will give authorized users access to real-time patient information and clinical data. The network employs a cloud-based medical image sharing platform that vastly improves image management and distribution.
“The selection of MHACO by CMS confirms the foundational work Memorial Hermann and MHMD have been doing for several years now,” says Chris Lloyd, MHACO’s CEO. “Advanced PCPs is a distinguishing feature, because our clinically-integrated physicians were already integrating our health information technology and other innovative tools in a team concept to manage the care of patients, delivering a higher level of care and better clinical outcomes.”
About Memorial Hermann
An integrated health system, Memorial Hermann is known for world-class clinical expertise, patient-centered care, leading edge technology, and innovation. The system, with its exceptional medical staff and more than 20,000 employees, serves southeast Texas and the greater Houston community. Memorial Hermann’s 12 hospitals include three hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, including a level one trauma center, a hospital for children, and a rehabilitation hospital, eight suburban hospitals, and a second rehabilitation hospital in Katy. The system also operates three Heart and Vascular Institute locations; the Mischer Neuroscience Institute; the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute; an air ambulance; cancer, imaging, and surgery centers; sports medicine and rehabilitation centers; outpatient laboratories; a chemical dependency treatment center; a home health agency; a retirement community; and a nursing home. To learn more, visit www.memorialhermann.org.
