Accountable Care Organizations Ramp Up Health IT Spending
By
John Pulley
New ACOs expect to spend $500 million collectively on health IT in their first year, survey finds.
New accountable care organizations expect to collectively spend $500 million on health IT in their first year, a new market research survey finds.
Smaller accountable care organizations estimate that they will spend more than $1 million each for new health IT systems, while larger ACOs anticipate spending up to $4 million per organization to launch operations, according to a news release from Black Book Rankings, which conducted the survey. The release does not specify what constitutes a large or a small ACO.
The vast majority – 96 percent – of the 1,100 ACO executives interviewed said they are actively acquiring health IT systems. Technologies being acquired, ranked by priority, include clinical-decision support, revenue-cycle management, health information exchange, new or upgraded electronic health record systems, e-prescribing, data-center security and storage, business intelligence and care-coordination management.
Meanwhile, 87 percent of the executives with purchasing decision-making authority said they intend to contract only with established, top-tier vendors, Black Book Rankings says.