Medication Management in ACOs: Are They Ready?

Are accountable care organizations (ACOs) prepared to utilize medications to achieve the best patient health outcomes, while meeting their financial and quality benchmarks? A poster presentation, “Medication Management in Accountable Care,” will answer this question at the AcademyHealth 2016 Annual Research Meeting on Monday, June 27, from 8:00 am – 9:30 am ET.  

The poster (#963) illustrates research findings from a National Pharmaceutical Council and Leavitt Partners study on ACOs that asks:

• What are ACOs doing to improve medication management?
• How do ACOs rate their overall performance on medication management-related tasks?
• How are organizational self-assessments related to actual financial performance?

The researchers surveyed ACOs and conducted in-depth interviews to find out their current medication management practices, and what challenges they face to implement changes, especially with the current transition from fee-for-service to value-based contracting.

Preliminary results show that:

• Most ACOs have not yet invested in the technology and other resources required to improve medication management practices;
• ACO leadership and broader care team buy-in are significant challenges for pharmacy leaders;
• ACOs begin to allocate more resources to medication management when medication-related costs become more clearly linked to total cost of care; and
• ACOs that rate themselves generally lower on medication management practices are less likely to have met or exceeded their financial benchmarks in the previous year.

Evidence suggests that when medication management is given sufficient resources, an ACO is likely to perform better overall. What are some high-value medication management activities that ACOs can implement in order to become successful? Find out by registering today to attend AcademyHealth’s 2016 Annual Research Meeting, which will be held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston from June 26 - 28.