ROCKPORT, Maine —  MaineHealth, parent of Pen Bay Healthcare, recently was approved to participate in the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Shared Savings Program, an initiative of the Affordable Care Act. Groups of healthcare providers who are selected to participate are called Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, and have demonstrated a capacity to provide their Medicare patients with well coordinated, high quality care. What does that mean to the

The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that all patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors. Our patients won’t need to do anything new, and their relationship with their doctor won’t change. Yet, this program will have a direct positive impact on our Medicare patients, and in turn their families and communities.

For information, visit www.penbayhealthcare.org/acofaq.