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In the United States, serving uninsured and under-insured patients has always been a cornerstone of the mission of community health centers, including FQHCs. But for patients who lack insurance and/or are chronically ill, communication and coordinating care can become an additional hurdle to overcome. Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, are groups of providers, doctors, nurses and sometimes hospitals and other times of providers, come together to improve coordination and ultimately health outcomes for patients.

Recently 10 West Virginia Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) joined a new ACO to help make patient care more efficient. FQHCs provide healthcare to some of the most vulnerable, medically underserved populations in the United States; coordinating their coverage can help reduce hospital visits and ultimately, healthcare costs. One of the things the ACO can do is improve the flow of information between various doctors. Having accurate and updatable data and analytics from your Electronic Health Record (EHR) software can help ensure streamlined communication on patient treatments and notes. An EHR vendor with sophisticated patient relationship management, flexible billing options, and an award winning customer service department can help you manage your ACO effectively and efficiently.

ACOs are about partnering together to provide better treatment and options for your community. They might not be right for every center, but making sure you have good partners will make all the difference in implementation.

For more information on West Virginia FQHCs visit their website

For more information on Accountable Care Organization, visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website or the National Council for Behavioral Health