On July 16, 2013, CMS announced the results¹ of its accountable-care organization (ACO) program, the Pioneer ACO Model. The program was designed to test the impact of higher levels of shared savings and risk on ACO success, and it attracted 32 participants from around the country. After the first year of participation, seven Pioneer ACOs that did not produce shared savings announced their intention to transition to the lower-risk (and lower-reward) Medicare Shared Savings Program, while two dropped out of the ACO model entirely.

Some observers have commented on the narrow networks associated with many insurance products being offered by the state and federal insurance exchanges mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). A new survey¹ of members of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) suggests why insurers may be having trouble attracting broader physician panels. The MGMA received more than 1,000 responses from practices representing more than 47,500 physicians.

From the man who imprinted the definition of value on health care’s collective forehead comes a prescription for the rescue of global health: Business guru Michael E. Porter (with Thomas H. Lee)¹ shares “The Strategy That Will Fix Health Care” in the October issue of Harvard Business Review. The article builds on everything that Porter has written on health care in the past to provide a solution with sheer simplicity at its center: Maximize value for patients by achieving the best outcomes at the lowest cost.

I read with interest the recent article by Cynthia Keen, “When a Hospital Replaces a Private Practice.”¹ The featured group is portrayed as an example of the type of practice that currently is being replaced by teleradiology companies. Poor customer service, substandard turnaround times, suboptimal call coverage, and lack of peer review are among the alleged failings.

June, a month long prized by brides, had a strong matrimonial pull on health-care providers, with a pair of announced mergers/acquisitions that created two massive health systems, one for profit and one nonprofit. Several other key mergers announced and expected to be completed this year highlight the diversity of the hospital players and their deals, but all share a common denominator: There is a pervasive ambition to grow.

Traditional Medicare was shielded from the 2% across-the-board cuts of sequestration, but not so for Medicare Advantage Plans. Add to this mandatory Affordable Care Act reductions to Medicare Advantage to bring its costs more in line with traditional Medicare, and it is no surprise that insurers who offer these plans are looking for ways to pass along the cuts to provider

Avoiding CT scans of the head in emergency department patients with minor head injuries who are at low risk based on validated decision rules came in first on the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) list of questionable procedures for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Choosing Wisely effort

Medical practices that once focused almost solely on the quality of care are increasingly including profitability and long-term viability in their strategic plans.