Norton Healthcare ACO Development and Informatics Implications

Steve Heilman, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer, Norton Healthcare. In 2009, Norton Healthcare and Humana, Inc. began working together to develop the first commercial Accountable Care Organization in the region.This joint effort represents one of four national pilot sites for the Brookings-Dartmouth ACO Pilot Project. The ACO model establishes incentives for health systems to increase quality and efficiency, better coordinate patient care, eliminate waste and reduce the overuse and misuse of care. Dr. Heilman discusses the development of the IT infrastructure necessary to support this effort and some early improvements in clinical outcomes achieved by making data more transparent to physicians.