Background

The accountable care organization (ACO) is a new type of health care organization incentivized to improve quality of care, improve population health, and reduce the cost of care. An ACO's success in meeting these objectives depends greatly upon its ability to improve patient care management. Numerous studies have found relational coordination to be positively associated with key measures of organizational performance in health care organizations, including quality and efficiency.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) identify the extent to which ACO leaders are aware of the dimensions of relational coordination, and (b) identify the ways these leaders believe the dimensions influenced care management practices in their organization.

Methodology/approach

We performed content analysis of interviews with managerial and clinical leaders from a diverse group of 11 ACOs to assess awareness of relational coordination and identify the ways that dimensions of relational coordination were perceived to influence development of care management practices.

Findings

ACO leaders mentioned four relational coordination dimensions: shared goals, frequency of communication, timeliness of communication, and problem solving communication. Three dimensions - shared knowledge of team members' tasks, mutual respect, and accuracy of communication - were not mentioned. Our analysis identified numerous ways leaders believed the four mentioned dimensions contributed to the development of care management, including contributions to standardization of care, patient engagement, coordination of care, and care planning.

Discussion

We propose two hypotheses for future research on relational coordination and care management.

Practice implications

If relational coordination is to have a beneficial influence on ACO performance, organizational leaders must become more aware of relational coordination and its various dimensions and become cognizant of relational coordination's influence on care management in their ACO. We suggest a number of means by which ACO leaders could become more aware of relational coordination and its potential effects.

Background

Safety net primary care providers, including as community health centers, have long been isolated from mainstream health care providers. Current delivery system reforms such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) may either reinforce the isolation of these providers or may spur new integration of safety net providers.

Objective

This study examines the extent of community health center involvement in ACOs, as well as how and why ACOs are partnering with these safety net primary care providers.

Design

Mixed methods study pairing the cross-sectional National Survey of ACOs (conducted 2012 to 2013), followed by in-depth, qualitative interviews with a subset of ACOs that include community health centers (conducted 2013).

Participants

One hundred and seventy-three ACOs completed the National Survey of ACOs. Executives from 18 ACOs that include health centers participated in in-depth interviews, along with leadership at eight community health centers participating in ACOs.

Main measures

Key survey measures include ACO organizational characteristics, care management and quality improvement capabilities. Qualitative interviews used a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were recorded and transcribed, then coded for thematic content using NVivo software.

Key results

Overall, 28% of ACOs include a community health center (CHC). ACOs with CHCs are similar to those without CHCs in organizational structure, care management and quality improvement capabilities. Qualitative results showed two major themes. First, ACOs with CHCs typically represent new relationships or formal partnerships between CHCs and other local health care providers. Second, CHCs are considered valued partners brought into ACOs to expand primary care capacity and expertise.

Conclusions

A substantial number of ACOs include CHCs. These results suggest that rather than reinforcing segmentation of safety net providers from the broader delivery system, the ACO model may lead to the integration of safety net primary care providers.