Some doctors worry accountable care organizations (ACOs) may micro-manage doctors and make their care decisions all about cost, Fred N. Pelzman, MD, writes for MedPageToday.
Although the ACO model will be a net positive for patients if it helps with evidence-based care and reduces unneeded emergency room visits and doctor-shopping, Pelzman writes, “what we do not want is to just have someone looking at our spending habits, peering into our patient interactions, and telling us what we can and cannot do.”
Making doctors’ ability to practice dependent on saving money on healthcare delivery could pressure practitioners not to provide necessary, appropriate care, he writes.
