HIMSS12 Notable and Quotable

“Anyone who claims to be an accountable care organization expert is just blowing smoke,” Gary Austin, president, TranzformHealth, in opening the ACO symposium, explained how the model is too new for anyone to claim expertise.


“Anyone who claims to be an accountable care organization expert is just blowing smoke,” Gary Austin, president, TranzformHealth, in opening the ACO symposium., explained how the model is too new for anyone to claim expertise.

“We are headed for the health care bubble,” Joe Damore, vice president, engagement and delivery, Premier, explaining at the ACO Symposium how runaway costs will necessitate dramatic spikes in tax rates if spending is not curtailed. If nothing changes, the current 25 percent tax bracket will become 66 percent by 2050 to fund federal spending for health care, he said.

“The ACO represents a transfer of risk from the financiers of health care to the providers of healthcare,” Rob Lazerow,, senior consultant, The Advisory Board Company, noting that under fee for service models, providers do not suffer financially when care is uncoordinated.

“How are we going to change delivery of care so the U.S. doesn’t have an infant mortality rate twice that of Cuba?” Lindsay Farrell, president, Open Door Family Medical Center, a federally qualified health center in Westchester County, N.Y. With half of its patients lacking health insurance, the clinic has embraced the medical home model in which primary care physicians monitor overall care delivery using an electronic health record and disease registry tools.