Evaluation Plan for Accountable Care Organization Formation

Consider the following scenario:

You are a health care administrator for a large community hospital in an urban market. Your hospital has already made substantial investments in health information technology and physician participation. In response to health care reform, several competing hospitals are starting to form ACOs to participate in new payment models designed to reduce costs and improve population health.

The board of directors for your hospital has requested that you lead the development of an evaluation plan to assess the potential impact of ACO formation. In particular, the board wants to understand how the ACO will align with the organization's strategy and what information will be required to assess the impact of the ACO on your organization's performance.

For this Assignment, reflect on the scenario presented, and consider how you might implement an evaluation plan for the desired outcomes and goals described. Consider what steps you might take as a current or future health care administrator and how an evaluation plan should be developed for a project such as that described in the scenario.

The Assignment (2 pages):

• Describe the measures and methods you would use for the evaluation plan, and explain why you would use them. Be sure to include what type of data you need to collect and a definition of the metrics you would use.
• Propose and develop a timeline for the implementation and evaluation plan for the scenario described. Be sure to highlight any challenges or opportunities in regard to adhering to the proposed timeline you develop. Suggest additional strategies you might recommend to ensure the implementation and evaluation plans are completed on time. Be specific and provide examples.
• Explain how the evaluation plan contributes to the feedback loop for effective management of an ACO.
• Explain how you will ensure that the evaluation plan you propose is aligned strategically with the mission of the ACO and why.