Healthcare delivery that stresses value over volume requires a transformed business model, says Marjie Harbrecht, CEO of HealthTeamWorks in Lakewood, Colo. Also, in order to be sustainable, she adds, the business model must adequately incorporate provider compensation, and spur all providers on the care-delivery team to deliver higher value care.

“This is about a different thought process for everyone,” said Harbrecht. “We really have poor integration and coordination right now and we don’t really have the systems in place to support this changing environment.”

Harbrecht, her colleague Allyson Gottsman, executive vice president of HealthTeamWorks; and Randy Cook, president and CEO of AmpliPHY Physician Services in Columbia, Tenn., will speak on this topic at the upcoming Medical Group Management Association 2013 Annual Conference. The session, titled “Building Integrated Communities of Care: PCMHs and ACOs,” will explain the functional differences between a patient-centered medical home and an accountable care organization, and how a transformation towards either a PCMH or ACO can benefit a healthcare organization.

[See also: 4 surprising benefits of PCMH.]

Harbrecht said she would lead discussions during the session on how healthcare organizations can begin to think differently when it comes to providing higher quality care.

“How can we begin to reach out to our medical neighborhoods so it’s a more integrated network?” she asked.

Cook said its important to understand the different kinds of payment models that apply when your organization transforms into a PCMH or an ACO.

[See also: Bon Secours, Aetna ink big ACO deal.]

“A lot of folks are confused on what the differences are between a PCMH and an ACO, and which one works for them,” he said. “Anyone in a hospital or primary care setting thinking of transforming to an ACO or PCMH model needs to understand the relevant provider compensation policies to be successful.”