Meditech, one of the largest vendors of hospital information systems in the U.S., has announced that it will acquire its long-time ambulatory care partner, LSS. The plans of many hospital systems to form accountable care organizations (ACOs), which will include inpatient and outpatient providers, was one of the main factors in Meditech's decision.

For nearly three decades, LSS has provided ambulatory practice management and electronic health record applications that interface with Meditech's inpatient products. Meditech said that it wants to integrate the two electronic records more closely, and that it would soon announce details of a totally integrated system.

It appears that Meditech's plans extend to post-acute care settings. The company previously purchased Patient Care Technologies, a home care IT vendor that had also been its partner for many years. In addition, a Meditech spokesman says that the company wants to connect rehabilitation, long-term care and behavioral health applications with its other systems.

Under the ACO provisions of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare will launch a shared savings program for ACOs in 2012. To achieve the savings required to get rewards in that program, providers will have to coordinate care across diverse care settings. In addition, the healthcare reform law authorizes a Medicare payment bundling pilot. In that demonstration, physicians, hospitals and post-acute providers will receive a single payment for an episode of care that includes hospitalization and 30 days of post-discharge care. 

To learn more:
- see this Health Data Management story
- read the Meditech press release
- check out the Affordable Care Act's care delivery provisions (.pdf)