Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Can ACOs reinvent the American health care system?

George Lundberg, MD
Policy
May 26, 2011
70 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

The cost curve of American medicine continues to bend up. That is unsustainable. It must begin to bend downward.

Two recent headlines focus the problem:

New York Times, May 14, 2011: Health Insurers Making Record Profits as Many Postpone Care

And, CNN Money, May 11, 2011 reports “Your family’s healthcare costs $19,393.” That is for a family of four, which has a median income of $75,700  — before taxes.

Opportunity knocks, loudly. We can change our medical world now.

American medicine has been very successful. American medicine has been a dismal failure. Both statements are correct, depending on how one looks at it.

It is now our opportunity, indeed I say our professional responsibility, to preserve the best, and to scuttle the worst.

We can build a new medical world based less upon process, quantity, volume, and lucre, and more on quality, safety, speed, outcomes, and patient-centered efficiency.

In this new era of accountable care organizations (ACOs), keep your eyes on the prize.

And the prize is positive outcomes for the health of the mind, body, and spirit of the patient.

Keep healthy people healthy, vigorous, and confident; recognize and treat acute illness quickly and effectively; manage chronic illness efficiently; do not promote disease mongering, cyberchrondriasis, medical bankruptcy, or, what Nortin Hadler and Clifton Meador call “the worried well.”

Accountable Care Organizations may take many forms. I believe that physician leadership will be the key.

The three goals of an ACO are to:

  1. Increase perceived value of care
  2. Improve actual clinical outcomes
  3. Lower healthcare costs

If it saves money, the ACO gets to keep some of the savings. This truly is an exciting opportunity to do well by doing good.

With ACOs, the American healthcare non-system actually can and should be reinvented.

Now.

I recommend engaging and empowering communities to work with the healthcare sector in building ACOs for their common good.

The credo of The Lundberg Institute is: one patient; one physician; one moment; one decision; let it be a shared decision, informed by the best evidence, and considering cost.

Might ACOs make health community informed shared decision-making of the same sort possible, facilitated by participatory technologies and social media as recently suggested by Springgate and Brook in JAMA?

Exciting time. Be creative. Seize the moment. Save American pluralistic healthcare. It may be our last best chance.

George Lundberg is a MedPage Today Editor-at-Large and former editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Originally published in MedPage Today. Visit MedPageToday.com for more health policy news.

Prev

Meaningful offline dialogue creates online inspiration

May 26, 2011 Kevin 2
…
Next

Poor health literacy linked with unnecessary health complications

May 26, 2011 Kevin 15
…

Tagged as: Primary Care, Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Meaningful offline dialogue creates online inspiration
Next Post >
Poor health literacy linked with unnecessary health complications

More by George Lundberg, MD

  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Pathologists face a stark career choice

    George Lundberg, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    A culture of cover-up has slowed the patient safety movement

    George Lundberg, MD
  • a desk with keyboard and ipad with the kevinmd logo

    Do drugs aid and abet genius or does genius lead to drugs?

    George Lundberg, MD

More in Policy

  • Pediatricians grapple with guns in America, from Band-Aids to bullets

    Tasia Isbell, MD, MPH
  • Health care wins, losses, and lessons

    Robert Pearl, MD
  • Maximizing care amidst provider shortages: the power of measurement-based care

    Tom Zaubler, MD
  • Unveiling excessive medical billing and greed

    Amol Saxena, DPM, MPH
  • Chronic health issues and homelessness

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • The impact of certificate of need laws on rural health care

    Jaimie Cavanaugh, JD and Daryl James
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Ketamine for mental health conditions: What every primary care physician needs to know

      Carlene MacMillan, MD & L. Alison McInnes, MD | Meds
    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • 1 in 4 attempt suicide: the persecution of autistic physicians

      Patricia Celan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Using the language of art to create work-life balance

      Sarah Samaan, MD | Physician
    • Levamisole is good for your dog, but bad for your cocaine

      Robert Killeen, MD | Meds
    • Physician autonomy and patient interactions in corporate health care

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • PSA screening: What you need to know [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Vague criteria can lead to misdiagnosis and prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 8 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Frontline Combo Yields High Remission Rate in Hairy Cell Leukemia
  • Two Large Medical Groups Shun Medicare Advantage Plans
  • Black Patients at Higher Risk for Physical Restraint in the ED
  • Compassion Is a Learnable Skill
  • When a Video Visit Leads to Real Connection

Meeting Coverage

  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Ketamine for mental health conditions: What every primary care physician needs to know

      Carlene MacMillan, MD & L. Alison McInnes, MD | Meds
    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • 1 in 4 attempt suicide: the persecution of autistic physicians

      Patricia Celan, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Using the language of art to create work-life balance

      Sarah Samaan, MD | Physician
    • Levamisole is good for your dog, but bad for your cocaine

      Robert Killeen, MD | Meds
    • Physician autonomy and patient interactions in corporate health care

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • PSA screening: What you need to know [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Vague criteria can lead to misdiagnosis and prison

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Can ACOs reinvent the American health care system?
8 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...