ACO implements evidence-based guidelines within SNF network to improve care coordination and reduce costs by $1.3 million
Radnor, PA, July 24, 2020 – MCG Health, part of the Hearst Health network and a leading provider of informed care strategies, has named Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization (DVACO) a recipient of the 2019 Richard L. Doyle Award for Innovation and Leadership in Healthcare, awarded to the organization this spring.
The Philadelphia-area ACO was recognized for implementing a unique post-acute strategy which significantly reduced patient length of stay in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and improved care coordination across the post-acute continuum of care. By leveraging MCG’s Chronic Care and Recovery Facility Care guidelines and a web-based tool to track their patients’ stays in post-acute care, Delaware Valley ACO reduced the average length of stay (LOS) by one full day and achieved a $1.3 million savings in Medicare expenditures. The ACO also decreased home health spend by 8% over the same timeframe. Since the ACO’s inception in 2014, they have been able to reduce overall SNF spend in their network by an impressive 30%.
Delaware Valley ACO’s strategic initiative used claims data to define the top 20 diagnoses for patients utilizing a SNF. The ACO then partnered with MCG to publish length of stay guidelines for these diagnoses and share them across their SNF network. This critical step encouraged proactive multi-disciplinary care planning at the time of admission. In turn, this helped to identify barriers to discharge earlier in the patient’s stay and initiate the proper actions to resolve them. Delaware Valley ACO’s SNF partners now proactively communicate with a patient’s primary care physician (and/or ambulatory care coordinator) to discuss clinical, social, medication, or palliative care goals. View full Press Release on the Doyle Award