ROCKFORD A shift is coming in the way hospitals and medical providers care for their patients.

Health systems are forming new partnerships with Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers called accountable care organizations that aim to better coordinate care for patients particularly those with chronic diseases like diabetes and heart conditions. The goal is to keep people healthy and, in the process, reduce health care costs.

ACOs are game-changers, reworking the way providers are reimbursed for services they deliver, tying payments to better outcomes rather paying providers per test or per procedure they order for patients, in hopes of avoiding duplication of services and preventing medical errors.

Were at the point now that health care has become unaffordable to businesses and companies, government, wealthy people, the middle class and the working poor, said Gary Kaatz, president and CEO of Rockford Health System.

Its unaffordable to everybody, so now we get permission to really knock the doors down and develop stuff that hasnt happened in decades.

If they work, ACOs allow providers and insurers to share in the savings of delivering more efficient care, and patients benefit from better care. Theres a bigger focus on patient education as part of these ACOs, and patients can expect more direct contact with providers, even for needs outside of the hospital walls.

Pilot program Rockfords OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center is the furthest along in the ACO process. Its parent company, Peoria-based OSF HealthCare, is one of 32 health systems nationwide piloting the Pioneer ACO Model with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Peoria, Galesburg, Bloomington and Pontiac started as part of the Medicare pilot ACO last year, but Rockford just kicked off its participation in January, said Dr. Jeff Tillery, vice president of OSF Medical Groups Northern Region. It covers about 6,000 patients.

Over the past year, Tillery said, OSFs central region has seen reductions in hospital readmissions and emergency department visits for patients involved in the pilot ACO.

The goal is to target services to that subset of the population that really needs it, Tillery said. They still have broad access to any services, but its incumbent upon us to engage them in ways to get better health outcomes.

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Health care enters new era with accountable care organizations