Accountable Care Systems

Accountable Care Systems and the Spectre of Health Inequity

31/05/202313/12/2017 by Nigel Slone

In August this year NHS England published a paper titled ‘ACOs and the NHS commissioning system’ In it, NHSE described its vision for commissioning set within the context of Accountable Care Systems and Accountable Care Organisations. One of the most striking features of the document was the inclusion at the very beginning of an ‘Equality and health inequalities statement’.

The debate on health inequalities has been with us for decades. Less has been written on the subject of health inequity. The distinction between inequity and inequality is nuanced but worthy of note.

If Accountable Care Systems are serious about addressing the continuing problem of health inequity then for me there are at least two stand out actions: 1. Use data to gain insight. 2. Put primary care ‘front and centre’. Read More…

Want to radically transform health services? Start by understanding your population.

31/05/202313/11/2017 by Nigel Slone

At the recent EHI Live 2017 conference and exhibition in Birmingham an entire conference stream was dedicated to a discussion on Population Health Management (PHM). Strolling amongst the vendors in the exhibition hall it seemed everyone had a story to tell.

It would appear that PHM is a ‘movement’ whose day may have come. PHM strategies are of course closely allied to the concept and practice of Accountable Care Systems. There is a lot hanging currently on Accountable Care Systems. For many policy ‘wonks’ there is no Plan B. Read More…

Accountable Care Systems: Betting the Farm on “Promise”?

31/05/202307/08/2017 by Nigel Slone

Back in June this year, Simon Stevens announced the first eight Accountable Care Systems (ACS). NHS England are making some big bets on Accountable Care Systems being able to deliver on the ambitions of Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs).

Timely then that I remind myself of a conference I attended in San Diego last year where one of the speakers was Dr Linda Dunbar, Vice President, Population Health at The Johns Hopkins Community Partnership (J-CHiP). J-CHiP is an Accountable Care Organisation (ACO) offering a model of community based accountable care in Baltimore.

As far as this ACO in the US is concerned, there is no ‘silver bullet’, just a lot of hard work and a lot of focus on shifting the culture. Read More…

Identifying needs, building interventions and busting myths: adventures in population health

31/05/202310/07/2017 by Nigel Slone

At the recent Health Plus Care Show at London Excel I spoke in the Transforming Primary Care Theatre. The insights I shared were harvested from a number of engagements that Sollis has had with Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) over a five year period commencing in 2012. More recently this work has concerned itself with population health analytics, where we have worked with local commissioners, including clinicians, in order to help them gain a better understanding of the current and future health status/needs of their local populations. Read More…