With TEAM’s focus on improving surgical recoveries and costs in major hospital-based surgeries, it’s easy to miss the importance of primary care physicians. But their role is essential for meeting TEAM’s objective to improve patient recovery and lower costs in the five major types of surgery covered by TEAM. And perhaps not in the way […]
For TEAM Success, Collaboration Agreements Must Be a Win-Win for Specialists and Hospitals
The new Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) targets the highest cost or volume surgeries in the Medicare program. While hospitals bear the financial risk, CMS has created a vehicle to align interests with other providers through Collaboration Agreements that can include financial incentives. How those are structured will be key to the successful alignment—or fracture—of […]
New TIPS for TEAM: Adopt ERAS Guidelines for Prevention of Complications and Faster Recovery
If TEAM has your hospital searching for an evidence-based toolkit to improve surgical outcomes and reduce recovery time, participating hospitals and their surgical teams should pay heed to ERAS (Enhanced Recovery After Surgery) protocols. The guidelines are tailored to more than twenty types of surgery as well as anesthesia and intensive care. They have been […]
TIPS for TEAM: How to Reduce the Top Driver of Higher Variable Costs in Surgery Episodes
One of the largest and most significant changes to specialty care payments in Medicare commences in January. TEAM (Transforming Episode Accountability Model) is poised to put hospitals at risk for total costs of care for the highest cost Medicare surgical episodes, including Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), Lower Extremity Joint Replacements (LEJR), major bowel procedures, […]
Three Strategies for ACOs to Optimize Specialty Care through TEAM
Both the greatest strength and weakness of the ACO shared savings (MSSP) model is its focus on primary care, particularly chronic disease. ACOs have put patients with diabetes, hypertension, and other conditions usually handled through primary care physicians at the center of care coordination, population health, and care management. But as CMS Value-Based Care’s central […]