Results from Maricich Healthcare Communications’ executive survey

Maricich Healthcare Communications has teamed with the American Medical Group Association (AMGA), the Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP) and the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) to conduct the first healthcare executive survey to study change management communications for accountable healthcare. Those survey results are now available to view at www.maricich.com/aco.

"We were fortunate to collaborate with highly respected organizations such as AMGA, CAPP and SHSMD to reach a broad pool of industry participants," according to Mark Maricich, CEO of Maricich Healthcare Communications. "With increased focus on accountable care, we believe the insight gained from this study will help healthcare executives launch successful ACO programs by effectively communicating with their various stakeholders."

Maricich Healthcare Communications is a leader in accountable healthcare change management communications. The firm creates comprehensive internal and external communications programs for organizations launching ACO initiatives. Maricich's immersion program, Best Practices in Accountable Care Communications (BPACC), a six-step process to help organizations manage change through strategic communications, was a catalyst for the study.

The survey was developed in conjunction with Toyomi Igus, communications director for CAPP and Sophia Gomez, founder of Gomez Research. The questions were designed to explore the prevalence and types of ACO ventures, perceived challenges and readiness to communicate the changes to key stakeholders such as physicians and patients. The survey was disseminated electronically to AMGA and SHSMD's databases and generated 120 qualified responses.