The concept of integrated and accountable care is growing in popularity around the world. Many health systems are experimenting with versions of the model in the hope that it can improve patient outcomes and experience, whilst reducing costs. Key to these processes are clinical integration or coordination across provider networks, placing patients at the center of care, and ensuring provider accountability for achieving agreed targets through performance measures and incentives.

The Accountable Care Forum aims to examine the organizations and systems around the world that have experience of implementing some form of integrated and accountable care and give detailed and insightful case studies of their experiences. It will further pull out the key success factors for making the shift and evaluate the benefits for the patient, organization and health system.

Integrated and accountable care promises to move health systems away from a volume-based approach to one that is value-based. The way this will be achieved will vary by country and system, but common to all systems will be a set of key principles, such as enabling the exchange of data between providers, transparent metrics, creating an environment that supports the shift to value-based payments, and rigorous standards. This Forum will look at what that means for policy makers and what things they can do to make integrated and accountable care a reality within their healthcare system.ma