During the past decade, preventive care in medicine has become a national priority. Coverage of preventive services has gained traction, exemplified by the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) elimination of cost-sharing for all preventive services; however, provider performance and quality of care vary widely. Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) emerged as a novel payment model to create a coordinated health system whereby providers contract together to take collective responsibility for managing the cost and quality of care for a population of patients. Preventive care is critical to ACOs’ success. Evaluating ACOs’ strategic choices in terms of their organizational structure and early performance provides an avenue to a better understanding of the factors behind preventive care quality.
In a HCFO-funded study, Valerie Lewis, Ph.D., of Dartmouth College and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study examining Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and Pioneer ACO Program participants and the association between preventive care quality performance and ACO characteristics. Their goal was to inform strategies for preventive care quality management.
