The National Committee for Quality Assurance re-certified Essentia Health as a level 3 Accountable Care Organization, the highest level of certification possible.
Currently, only two U.S. health systems-Essentia and Minneapolis-based HealthPartners-have this certification.
The Triple Aim in health care and the foundation for Accountable Care Organizations relates to quality care, a great patient experience and all at a lower cost. The Triple Aim, Essentia Health reports, has been its standard of care since the health system first became a certified ACO in 2013.
"Achieving health care's Triple Aim requires a new model of healthcare delivery - one that embraces preventive care and chronic disease management as paths to better health and lower costs for our patients and communities," says Dr. Patrick Twomey, Essentia Health's chief medical officer in a news release.
The NCQA's rigorous review process assesses each organization's ability to coordinate and deliver the care expected of ACOs, including:
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ā¢ Protecting patient rights, including privacy,
ā¢ Offering easily-accessible health care,
ā¢ Having a solid foundation of patient-centered primary care,
ā¢ Using care coordination to manage patient populations,
ā¢ Monitoring practice patterns and using performance data to improve quality.
As an ACO, Essentia leverages its electronic health record to deliver highly-coordinated, population-based care. For example, Essentia can scan the records of 500,000 plus patients to determine who may need a colonoscopy, and then reach out to those patients to schedule them for the test.
"Promoting better population health is part of health care's Triple Aim and part of our obligation as an Accountable Care Organization," said Chief Executive Officer Dr. David Herman. "Anything we can do to help keep the focus on health, to help promote health within our communities, it's important for us to participate."
