Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Clinical Integration?

Clinical integration is an effort among physicians, often in collaboration with a hospital, health system and other medical providers to develop active and ongoing clinical initiatives focused on delivering quality care, performance, efficiency and value to the patient.

2. Why are Clinically Integrated Networks forming across the country?

There is a strong movement that we have been a part of for several years with physicians, hospitals and other providers working together more closely than ever before to ensure that the community receives the highest quality care and value. As we move from today’s fee-for-service reimbursement models to new performance and value-based pay models, CINs enable health care providers to join together to provide high-quality, integrated, patient-centered care. These networks will bring value to patients, payers and physicians by improving transitions of care, coordinating chronic disease management and managing the health of a population.

3. What does Atlantic Alliance Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) do?

Atlantic Alliance allows physicians to partner with Atlantic Health System and other providers to coordinate care, focus on quality and performance, and set the stage for new, incentive-based compensation programs. The network will develop new payment systems and methods that focus on achieving quality, efficiency, cost-management measures and enhancing value.

4. What makes Atlantic Alliance an effective Clinically Integrated Network?

  • We are an established collaborative network of 2,500 physicians participating in contracts and practice transformation
  • We have the expertise to match your interest and risk tolerance with the right value and risk-based contracts
  • We have an established track record of success in value-based contracts, having paid more than $42 million in shared savings and care management fees to our physicians
  • We provide our physician participants with the data, administrative and training support necessary to be successful in value and risk-based contracts
  • We have partnered with Atlantic Health System, a regional, patient-centered health care delivery system

5. What are the benefits of joining Atlantic Alliance?

Atlantic Alliance offers physicians the opportunity to:

  • Create a Medical Neighborhood with your preferred specialists or primary care physicians
  • Use care management resources provided by Atlantic Alliance
  • Learn and evolve best practices in a collaborative environment
  • Improve health outcomes for patients
  • Earn shared savings and care management revenue for value-based outcomes and quality targets
  • By joining our ACOs, your Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) quality reporting is simplified in our Track 1 ACOs or avoided altogether in our advanced alternative payment models in 2019 and beyond
  • Access additional medical services administrative programs to improve practice efficiencies: Practice transformation coaching
    • Practice transformation coaching
    • Population health coaching, including access to Epic Healthy Planet population management software
    • Educational webinars
    • Patient care coordination expertise

6. What is the difference between a Clinically Integrated Network and an Accountable Care Organization (ACO)?

A Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) is an alignment model, coordinating care across affiliated physicians, practitioners, and care systems and developing contracts with payers to improve quality while controlling growth in total cost of care, including value-based contracting initiatives with commercial insurers, Medicaid, and Medicare.

ACOs were formed as a demonstration project of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. It is an organization of health care providers that agrees to be accountable for the quality, cost and overall care of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the traditional fee-for-service program who are assigned to the ACO.

The Atlantic-supported ACOs, which consist of Optimus Healthcare Partners and Atlantic Accountable Care Organization, have also developed similar contracts with most of the major commercial payers in NJ. Atlantic Alliance looks to further expand the opportunities in these areas with a broader, more integrated network of participants.

The ACO is a component of a Clinically Integrated Network.

7. What are the requirements for participation in Atlantic Alliance CIN?

As a participant in Atlantic Alliance CIN, physicians/providers will:

  • Adopt and adhere to physician-developed standards to improve quality and efficiency
  • Agree to be measured and share information to facilitate measurement
  • Collaborate with network participants to improve performance
  • Promote, refer to, and communicate with network participants appropriately and effectively

8. What will make Atlantic Alliance CIN successful?

The following factors will contribute to the success of Atlantic Alliance CIN:

  • Adherence to best practices in care coordination and quality guidelines
  • Building and supporting the physician and provider network to achieve its goals of improved quality and reduced total cost of care
  • Providing physicians and providers the tools for success in value-based payment models, regardless of organization size or ownership structure, whether aligned or independent
  • Giving physicians who wish to remain independent the tools to succeed in the value-based reimbursement world of the future
  • Transparency and engagement with physicians at all levels regardless of model of partnership
  • Financial incentives tied to volume and quality of care
  • Significant investment in technology to enable all partnered physicians to operate on a common platform, either directly or through a health information exchange

9. What are the next steps to become a member of Atlantic Alliance CIN?

To speak with a representative of Atlantic Alliance CIN, please call 973-971-7499.