Implementation Science: a Potential Catalyst for Delivery System Reform

Implementation Science: a Potential Catalyst for Delivery System Reform

Elliott S. Fisher, MD, MPH, Stephen M. Shortell, PhD, MBA, MPH, and Lucy A. Savitz, PhD, MBA

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The US healthcare system is in a period of unprecedented change. The threats posed by increasing healthcare costs and the growing consensus that much of current spending is wasted[1] have stimulated a broad array of public and private initiatives aimed at improving care and lowering costs: new technologies, increased investments in patient centered outcomes research (PCOR); public reporting on the quality and cost of care; pay for performance initiatives; and continued efforts to adopt value-based payment models. The health system has responded. For example, the number of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) has increased from a handful in 2009 to 775 at the present time.[2]