Add a Comment If you’ve ever played volleyball before, you know that the best way to typically score a point is to bump…set….and spike the ball. You simply defend the ball with a bump, and then set it up for an eye-popping spike. It’s a great feeling to spike the ball, but it’s utterly dependent on the setup shot by your teammate. A perfectly placed ball from the setter position allows you to place all of your power into the ball, ensuring a point each time. Pharmacies have been ‘defending’ themselves in about every area, and rightfully so. In the case of ACO’s, we have been set up with an awesome opportunity to set ourselves up for the ‘spike’ of a generation.
ACO’s essentially hold the healthcare system ‘accountable’ in several ways. One such way is by encouraging discharge planning and continuity of care upon discharge by reducing (or even eliminating) payments if the patient is readmitted to the hospital for the same condition in a relatively few amount of days. Therefore, an incredible amount of focus is being placed on improving the process by which patients are sent home from the hospital. As a pharmacist myself, I see the inherent issues that arise from the current process of patient discharge from the hospital.
