ACOs Can Ethically Influence Physician Referrals, Say Medical Ethicists

January 19, 2015

(Medscape) – It’s the health care holy grail: higher quality care at lower cost, and there are a growing number of accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the United States aiming to achieve it, in part by influencing where patients receive care. This carries risk to patient well-being and choice, but medical ethicists at Johns Hopkins and Brigham and Women’s say ACOs can ethically influence referrals, under certain conditions.