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, […]
The 2026 CMS PFS Final Rule: The 5 Ways CMS Aims to Control Total Cost of Care
The CMS PFS Final Rule is out . . . early? If you’re wondering how, in the midst of the Shutdown, a 2,375-page Rule could be released, the answer is simple: most of the proposals from this summer were finalized as is. There are always exceptions, but the big takeaway is that this Rule solidifies […]
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 […]