With the ACA considered by economists as creative destruction of the existing fragmented, pay-for-service healthcare system in the US, voids will arise in service providers, service patrons (patients), and service provider leadership. Rushing to fill the service void are the proposed Accountable Care Organizations – bodies of allied service providers which should render better, safer, and more efficient care to patients. But while ACO’s are to provide the spectrum of health care services, who is to use them and who will lead them?

The New England Journal of Medicine recently released two analyses about ACO leadership and the patient’s role in an ACO. Informatively objective, the papers address salient issues about ACO’s being run by either hospitals or physicians and about means to achieve patient loyalty once ACO’s have been established.

Read the analyses and let us know what you think by posting a comment below.

And if ACO’s fail to float your HIT boat, take a gander at NEJM’s perspective on the constitutionality of the ACA. With the Republican election wave, this tussle could go many, many rounds.

And as always, comments below are greatly appreciated.