Accountable Care Organizations: The Basics

Course overview

This course reviews The Accountable Care Organization (ACO) delivery model and the changing nurse functions in this care model. The model was brought into the system in 2012, targeting Medicare beneficiaries. Over the course of 10 years, it has been modified, and variations have been added to the first care model. What remains unchanged are three tenets known as The Triple Aim (IHI, n.d.): Improving the health of the population Enhancing the patient care experience, including access, quality, and reliability Reducing, or making efforts to control, the per beneficiary cost of care This course will focus on the nurses role in the ACO, assessing how the nurses role has evolved beyond direct care delivery and highlighting the critical role that nurses have in the evolving landscape of the healthcare system within the ACOs.