Frequently Asked Questions

No. The cost to set up IT interfaces to participate in clinical integration and the quality measures will be absorbed by the CIN or ACO.

As a participant of CNY AIM, there is no cost to the practice for data analytics. These costs are carried by Trinity Health, the Hospital, or the CIN/ACO.
Most practices submit clinical information through the IT interface on a weekly basis although it is not uncommon to submit on a nightly basis.
As an ACO Participant, you will be required to passively notify beneficiaries that your practice participates in a Medicare Shared Savings Accountable Care Organization. This notification provided through the use of posters and flyers – in the office. No other beneficiary consent/privacy notification requirements apply.
As a participant of CNY AIM, there is no cost to the practice for data analytics. These costs are carried by Trinity Health, the Hospital, or the CIN/ACO.
Central New York Accountable, Integrated Medicine (CNY AIM) was established in 2015 to allow the physician and provider community to work together in an integrated, cohesive, and coordinated way.
A CIN is a physician-led entity where participants organize into a single network focused on performance improvement and achieving healthcare’s Triple AIM. A CIN can collectively engage payers to contract and reward the network based on Triple Aim performance for attributed populations. The Triple Aim refers to the simultaneous pursuit of improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of health care. CNY AIM paraphrases that powerful academic statement to “Better Care, Better Health, and Lower Costs”.  The IHI Triple Aim framework was developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, Massachusetts (www.ihi.org).

An ACO is a group of physicians, hospitals and other health care providers who come together to give coordinated high quality care to their Medicare patients.  The purpose of an ACO is to enable care coordination that allows a patient to receive the right care at the right time while reducing cost.  CNY AIM members are eligible to become participants of Trinity Health Integrated Care (THIC) ACO, which is considered an Advanced Alternative Payment Model (AAPM) by CMS.  Trinity Health is a national leader in value-based care delivery.

We know that payment and associated care models will be dramatically different within the next five to ten years.  We will be a leader in our markets by mobilizing a people-centered, evidence-based approach to managing health, consistently producing excellent triple aim outcomes.

The payer community, governmental and commercial payers have demonstrated their commitment to shift to new reimbursement models that reward value and quality.  We are already accountable for the cost and quality of care for many of the patients covered by Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield products, THIC ACO, Medicare, and Medicaid Managed Care plans.
One of the key components of CNY AIM is to serve a venue where physicians can collaborate.  Physicians across specialties and practice locations should come together to identify opportunities to:
  • Identify ways to better coordinate and integrate care across the network.
  • Develop improved models of care delivery.
You can expect to collaborate with other providers in terms of transitions of care, timely access and shared best practices.  Providers in CNY AIM are open to sharing practice improvement opportunities and have agreed to data transparency as it related to practice performance.  The role of the physician is central to achieving Better Health, Better Care, and Lower Costs.

To support your commitment to clinical integration, CNY AIM will commit to the following support activities

  • Negotiate and execute both APM and FFS contracts that are beneficial to physicians and that recognize and promote value based healthcare.
  • Develop and support the infrastructure for successful care coordination with physician input
  • Support and respect the physician in providing services and managing his or her patients based on evidence based best practices.
  • Incorporate physician input into establishing clinical collaboration structures, developing clinical performance standards and protocols, quality initiatives and other activities affecting the provision of care.
  • Encourage physician leadership through participation in governance.
  • Provide support to help physicians understand and interpret patient data, implement and comply clinical guidelines, disease management, and other quality improvement effort.
Together we will develop and support a patient-centered infrastructure for successful care coordination.