Anne writes that the current trend toward more bundled payment will accomplish two goals: 1) it will intensify hospital and health plan focus on PAC network development and 2) it will place more pressure on hospitals to move past clinical integration towards full risk management.

As hospitals consider slimming down their existing referral networks, it is possible for PAC providers to guide their decision-making. It is clear that hospitals want to pick the “best” PAC providers with the highest levels of engagement and the best performance standards to limit unnecessary and costly readmissions. However, a much-needed scoring mechanism never existed until Avalere released its Vantage Core Positioning System (CPS) Post-Acute Care Scorecard (PAC Scorecard). The PAC Scorecard, which includes Medicare FFS data from every U.S.-based PAC provider, makes it easy to compare performance in a single comprehensive report. The PAC scorecard allows providers to weigh certain performance elements more heavily than others reflecting their specific priorities.

Avalere developed the PAC Scorecard based on its own expertise, literature reviews and research of individual efforts to develop scorecards and initiatives promoting partnerships. Avalere also conducted interviews with hospital executives and other experts to finalize the best set of possible scoring metrics. These metrics, which comprise the PAC Scorecard, enable hospital executives to evaluate the data easily and guide them to determine the best PAC providers with which to create deeper relationships. Conversely, it helps PAC executive identify their relative performance in a given market.

To read Anne’s full blog post, click here.