Practical Lessons from International Examples of Accountable Care
<p>As U.S. health system leaders and policymakers work to improve health care quality and outcomes while reducing costs, they can learn a lot from the experiences of their global counterparts. In a new post on <em>To the Point</em>, Duke University’s Mark McClellan and colleagues highlight their research, conducted in collaboration with The Commonwealth Fund’s International Health Policy and Practice Innovations team, into international models of accountable care. </p><p>The authors offer lessons from four initiatives: </p>
<ul>
<li>Better Together in England, a regional alliance that has integrated health and social services for an aging population</li>
<li>Gesundes Kinzigtal in Germany, a private health management company that developed shared savings contracts with insurers to manage care for all residents in the region</li>
<li>Possible in Nepal, a public–private partnership that uses community health workers and telehealth tools</li>
<li>Zio in the Netherlands, an integrated care network that helps patients manage their chronic conditions.</li>
</ul>
<p>Read the post to learn why doctors aren’t the only answer, why health information technology doesn’t have to be expensive, and why, at least sometimes, cheap is good.</p>