For the last couple of years, the U.S. health care system has been kneaded and punched and stretched and spun around like a big, fat ball of pizza dough. That was the fun part.

Things really get cooking this year, from the official launch of the health insurance marketplaces to the kick-off of ICD-10 on Oct. 1 — with a whole bunch of other important stuff happening in between. What you and your organization do, how everything you do gets measured, and how you get reimbursed for what you do — or in some cases don’t do — could add up to big success or big disappointment.

In the last several months, we here at Hospitals & Health Networks have discussed the changes that lie ahead with health care leaders from across country, representing every type and size of organization. Given the complexities and unknowns, it’s impressive how eager most of you seem to be to get your arms around this whole thing, understand your options and position your organizations for the new realities. 

Here’s something that might help: Our colleagues in the AHA and Health Forum Health Care Data Center are conducting a Survey of New Care Systems & Payment to assess what concepts are out there and which ones are gaining the most traction. It’s another tool to help health care executives, boards and other stakeholders compare their own progress with the field as a whole and make informed decisions about whether to go in — or avoid going in — certain directions.

Like health care’s evolution itself, the survey is ongoing and will provide a continually up-to-date picture of how prepared or unprepared hospitals and others are for the move from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance reimbursements and for such things as accountable care organizations, care coordination, medical homes and bundled payment. Perhaps best of all, the survey will identify new concepts and new iterations of current concepts as they emerge.

We’ve got some fascinating early results of the survey in our foldout section in the January issue of H&HN. To access the gatefold, click here.

If you haven’t participated in the survey yet, I encourage you to do so. The more who do, the better the data, and the more useful the results will be for everyone.

To take part in the survey or learn more about these initial results, contact Peter Kralovec, executive director of the Data Center.