Care Organization and a program within that organization that promotes population health initiatives

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MMHA 6200/HLTH 8201/MMHA 5200: PRINCIPLES OF POPULATION HEALTH IN HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION

  • Week 7
  • Introduction
  • Resources
  • Discussion
  • Week in Review

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MMHA 6200/HLTH 8201/MMHA 5200: PRINCIPLES OF POPULATION HEALTH IN HEALTHCARE ADMINISTRATION

  • Week 7
  • Introduction
  • Resources
  • Discussion
  • Week in Review

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  • MMHA 6200/HLTH 8201/MMHA 5200: Principles of Population Health in Healthcare Administration
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Week 7: Population Health Best Practices

As an administrator, you want to operate your health care facility based on practices proven to be effective. The management buzzword for this proof of effectiveness is “best practices.” These best practices imply that the program or process has been tested or vetted to ensure the reliability and effectiveness of an initiative, program, or facility.

This week, you will examine the best practices for effective programs that promote and enhance population health.Learning Objectives

Students will:
  • Evaluate effective programs that promote population health initiatives
  • Evaluate best practices that promote population health in communities

Photo Credit: [Abel Mitja Varela]/[E+]/Getty Images

Learning Resources

Note: Most journal articles for this course are available online through the Walden Library databases, unless linked directly in the classroom. The Course Readings List contains all of the required Walden Library resources for this course. Please click on the following link to access the applicable list for this course: http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/mmha6200

Required Readings

Epstein, A. M., Jha, A. K., Orav, E. J., Liebman, D. L., Audet, A.-M. J., Zezza, M. A., & Guterman, S. (2014). Analysis of early accountable care organizations defines patient, structural, cost, and quality-of-care characteristics. Health Affairs, 33(1), 95–102.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Kassler, W. J., Tomoyasu, N., & Conway, P. H. (2015). Beyond a traditional payer—CMS’s role in improving population health. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(2), 109–111.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

McWilliams, J. M., Landon, B. E., Chernew, M. E., & Zaslavsky, A. M. (2014). Changes in patients’ experiences in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations. New England Journal of Medicine, 371(18), 1715–1724.

Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Gold, J. (2014, April). FAQ on ACOs: Accountable Care Organizations, explained. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved from http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/aco-accountable-care-organization-faq/

Gold, J. (2014, April). FAQ on ACOs: Accountable Care Organizations, explained. Retrieved from http://kaiserhealthnews.org/news/aco-accountable-care-organization-faq/ Reprinted by permission of Kaiser Family Foundation.

Health Catalyst. (2015). Population health management solutions. Retrieved from https://www.healthcatalyst.com/population-health/

Nash, D. (2016). Population Health: Creating a culture of wellness. Salsbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett

  • Chapter 14, “ Population Health in Action: Successful Models”
  • Chapter 15, “Legal Implications of Health Reform”

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2015). Accountable care organizations (ACO). Retrieved from http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/ACO/index.html?redirect=/ACO

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2014). ACOs in your state. Retrieved from http://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/sharedsavingsprogram/ACOs-in-Your-State.html

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.). Pioneer ACO model. Retrieved June 12, 2015, from http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Pioneer-ACO-Model/

Required Media

Jefferson School of Population Health. (2012, September 5). Introduction to population health: Video 3 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFahtjPXaUE

Note: Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 2 minutes.

Discussion: Effective Population Health Initiatives

Post your responses to the Discussion based on the course requirements. Your Discussion postings should be written in standard edited English and follow APA guidelines as closely as possible given the constraints of the online platform. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this module’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure your in-text citations and reference list are correct. Initial postings must be 250–350 words (not including references).

Note: This is a Post First assignment. You are required to post your original post before the discussion board opens for your review.

Every year, you may hear more and more about Accountable Care Organizations. Generally referred to as ACOs, these are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers that come together voluntarily to give coordinated high-quality health care to their Medicare patients. The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors (Centers for Medicare, 2015). As a health care administrator, you must ensure that you understand the various types of health care organizations available for your facility, your employees, and your patients.

For this Discussion, you examine Accountable Care Organizations and the programs that are supported by them, as well as best practices used by these programs in the effort to guarantee high-quality care to their Medicare patients.

To prepare for this Discussion, select an Accountable Care Organization and a program that is mapped to that ACO. Evaluate one of the program’s best practices that have been and continue to be effective at promoting population health.

By Day 3

Posta brief description of your selected Accountable Care Organization and a program within that organization that promotes population health initiatives. Evaluate the program’s effectiveness in promoting population health initiatives. Then, within that program, evaluate best practices that promote population health within the community. In your explanation, consider the following:

  • What seems to be working?
  • Have they addressed any barriers?

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

By Day 5

Respondto at least twoof your colleagues’ postings, exploring best practices that may work for your community. Justify your response.

Continue engaging in the Discussion through Day 7.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 7 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 5

To participate in this Discussion:

Week 7 Discussion

Week in Review

This weekyou evaluated best practices from Accountable Care Organization programs that promote population health in communities.

Next weekyou will continue your Final Project by designing a pilot program and program evaluation for your population health initiative.

To go to the next week:

Week 8