Last week the healthcare world was all abuzz. The federal government was set to begin the journey that every player in the marketplace has been waiting for, the road to the accountable care organization. Over 300 industry leaders gathered in Baltimore to hear just how this was going to occur, to hear the “new normal.” Well… that’s not exactly what was heard. Although there were some mentions of changes to safe harbors and inclusion of all players, not a lot of new and different ideas were shared. While following those who were live tweeting the event, comments like “..is an ACO a PHO without the H?” and “Without antitrust legislation, we’ll have only large hospital networks remaining..” and even “..capitation is on the horizon” were the norm of the conversation.
The closer we get to implementation of this “new” model, the more similar it appears to ideas that have been tried (and failed) before. It seems we have not yet developed the appetite for a model that is new and truly different.
Apple’s iPad has been out for less than a year. It is anticipated that within the year it will have its own category of electronics, and will outsell netbooks by a large margin within the next two years. The iPad was expected to do well, but not this well. The iPad, like healthcare reform, was promoted as something new and truly different. But the iPad was not only new and different, it was also better for the customer…at least at some things. It made doing things that customers truly wanted to do (get information fast) better and easier, even at the cost of not being as good at others (word processing, gaming, etc.).
In an article in Kaiser Health News this morning, the author outlines how many industry players are lining up to make ACO’s work – not for the patient, our customers, but for them, the providers of services. These industry insiders all seem to be afraid of what they might have to give up under this new model of care, and are looking to make sure they maximize their own gains. There may be a lesson for us to learn from our friends at Apple. If we truly want to improve our model of care, we are going to need to give some things up. Everything cannot stay the same with different titles. Different for the sake of different is not going to cut it either. If healthcare is truly going to be reformed, we need to come up with both “different” and “better” – for the providers AND for the patients. So the question remains, does the highly publicized and government-endorsed accountable care organization meet these standards? Based on those attending the listening sessions this past week, I’m afraid the jury is still out.
