For ACO Adoption Success, Leave Cost Out of It

Reviewing this type of cost-saving opportunities is time-consuming, which can be off-putting to busy physicians. To encourage participation, Quality Collaborative board members are paid an hourly rate to participate in the review process.

"We've taken the tack where we involve our physician in every manner of the decision-making process. We standardize the packs for the OR and we present it to the other physicians. Physicians are putting in the time, are involved in the process, and are giving their input to the hospital so we don't sacrifice quality for savings. And that takes up some time so you need to pay them to help make those decisions," Knight says.

ACOs, whether the Medicare model or a commercial approach, can improve care for patients at a lower cost while aligning and integrating physicians and hospitals. Palmetto Health's Quality Collaborative demonstrates that greater physician involvement can lead to greater cost savings.