Decision Resources Group Cited in ACO Performance Benchmarking Study

BURLINGTON, Mass., May 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group (DRG) today announced that data from its market-leading database, Organized Customer Group Navigator (OCGN), was cited in an article published in the April issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The article, entitled Early Performance of Accountable Care Organizations in Medicare, profiles performance-to-date of U.S. Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) for the years of 2012 and 2013. The study used claims data as well as OCGN to profile the details of ACO contracts. The OCGN database contains over 1,100 U.S. ACO contracts with historical data back to 2010. J. Michael McWilliams, M.D., Ph.D., a Warren Alpert Associate Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston, led the study.

The article's findings revealed that in 2012, Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACOs demonstrated a 1.4% relative cost savings to the control group, but the cost savings was negligible in 2013. A deeper analysis revealed that independent provider groups performed slightly better than hospital-integrated groups on cost savings measures. Despite somewhat underwhelming absolute cost savings, the MSSP ACOs drove improved performance of some quality measures.

"These results suggest that ACOs with no downside risk can achieve savings, but that savings to Medicare and society may be slow to develop," said McWilliams. "But the incentives for ACOs to lower spending are currently very weak, so savings may accelerate if the incentives are strengthened."

Brigham Hyde, Senior Vice President of Analytics and Chief Data Officer at DRG, said, "As healthcare continues its shift from volume to value, DRG's ACO data continues to be market leading in both breadth and depth of coverage. Dr. McWilliams's research represents yet another important stake in the ground as we begin to see the early readout of what is working and what isn't for ACO rollout."

Follow DRG on Twitter @DRGInsights and on LinkedIn and keep up with the latest industry news on the DRG Blog.

About Decision Resources Group
DRG, a subsidiary of Piramal Enterprises Ltd., offers best-in-class, high-value data, analytics and insights products and services to the healthcare industry, delivered by more than 1000 employees across 17 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. DRG provides the Life Sciences, Provider, Payer and Financial Services industries the data, tools, insights and advice they need to compete and thrive in an increasingly complex and value-based marketplace. decisionresourcesgroup.com.

Media Contact:
SHIFT Communications
Theresa Masnik
617.779.1871
[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130103/MM36768LOGO

SOURCE Decision Resources Group

Related Links

http://www.decisionresourcesgroup.com