Harkness Project: Collaborative Governance through Accountable Care Organizations
Placement: University of California, Berkeley
Mentor: Stephen Shortell, University of California, Berkeley
Co-mentor: Francis J. Crosson, Permanente Federation
Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Rachael Addicott, Ph.D., a 2011-12 U.K. Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, has been a senior policy research fellow at The King's Fund, where her portfolio includes research on models of accountability in U.K. health care, including work on Foundation Trusts, employee ownership, integrated care, and the new White Paper reforms. In 2009, she organized a summit on end of life care that produced a publication and recommendations, which have fed in to the government's new End of Life Care Strategy. Previously, she was a lecturer at the University of London, and before moving to the U.K., she worked in the Department of Human Services in Melbourne. Addicott has 10 peer-reviewed publications, in journals including International Journal of Palliative Nursing, Journal of Health Organization and Management, Public Money and Management. Addicott holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Imperial College, London, and a bachelors in sociology from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.
Project: The aim of this project was to examine how the adoption of accountable care organizations (ACOs) has been received by medical professionals and other health care providers in the U.S. – including the receptivity of organizations to such reform – to determine whether the model represents a genuine shift towards accountability. Addicott first conducted interviews with expert national stakeholders in order to better understand the drivers of policy and expected implementation issues. She then conducted four case studies at ACO sites, which involved interviewing with ACO “members,” observations of meetings, and document review.
Career Activity since Fellowship:
- Senior Policy Research Fellow, The King's Fund
Current Position:
- Head of Research, The King's Fund
Email: [email protected]
Harkness-Related Publications:
Addicott R. Primary care. Let the mavericks take a leap faith. Health Serv J. 2014 Apr 25;124(6395):22-3.
Addicott R, Shortell SM. How "accountable" are accountable care rganizations? Health Care Manage Rev. 2014 Jan 2.
Round J, Drake R, Kendall E, Addicott R, Agelopoulos N, Jones L. Evaluating a complex system-wide intervention using the difference in differences method: the Delivering Choice Programme. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2013 Aug 27.
Addicott R. Delivering better end-of-life care in England: barriers to access for patients with a non-cancer diagnosis. Health Econ Policy Law. 2012 Oct;7(4):441-54.