CMS sets the IT bar very high for Medicare ACOs

The information technology capabilities that accountable care organizations will need under the proposed rule establishing a Medicare Shared Savings Program could go far beyond what's necessary to prove Stage 1 electronic health records meaningful use. And the Shared Savings Program starts Jan. 1, 2012, during Stage 1 of meaningful use. Compliance with coordination of care requirements "may" involve a range of strategies which "may" include: * Use of predictive modeling to anticipate likely care needs, * Remote monitoring of patients, * Telehealth, * Comparative benchmarking, and * "The establishment and use of health information technology, including electronic health records and an electronic health information exchange to enable the provision of a beneficiary's summary of care record during transitions of care both within and outside of the ACO," according to the proposed rule, issued Thursday.