Accelerating Accountable Care Through Rapid Learning

Why It Matters

By delivering near‑real‑time evidence, rapid‑learning collaboratives allow accountable‑care initiatives to adapt quickly, driving higher quality care at lower cost across the fragmented U.S. health system.

Key Takeaways

• Rapid learning pairs speed with methodological rigor for policy.
• Learning collaboratives amplify impact by sharing real‑time evidence.
• CMS Innovation Center uses rapid‑cycle RCTs to inform reforms.
• State Medicaid agencies can apply rapid learning to HR1 and rural health.
• Data‑driven partnerships enable quick adaptation and scalable solutions.

Summary

Accelerating accountable care through rapid learning was the focus of a recent webinar co‑hosted by West Health and Duke Margolis. Speakers highlighted the urgency created by shifting payment and delivery models and introduced the West Health Accelerator as a partnership that blends practice‑grounded redesign with rigorous policy evidence.

The presenters outlined three guiding principles: speed with rigor, collaborative learning, and existing implementation. They described a spectrum of rapid‑learning tools—from peer‑to‑peer affinity groups and positive‑deviation analyses to time‑limited randomized trials—emphasizing that matching method to question yields actionable signals faster than traditional studies.

Amy Stuck stressed that “learning together multiplies impact,” while Kate Davidson illustrated how the CMS Innovation Center’s rapid‑cycle program generates early evidence for policy tweaks. Peter Margolis cited Ohio’s Outcomes Acceleration for Kids (OAK) network, which used real‑time data to identify effective mental‑health follow‑up interventions within months.

The discussion underscored that rapid‑learning infrastructures can help state Medicaid agencies meet HR‑1 milestones, accelerate rural health transformation, and evaluate digital‑health tools, ultimately enabling policymakers and providers to iterate, scale successful models, and curb costs while improving outcomes.

Original Description

Accelerating Accountable Care Through Rapid Learning: Real-World Tests and Learning Collaboratives in Action

This webinar highlights the use of rapid learning approaches to quickly learn what works to accelerate accountable care, with a specific focus on the CMMI Rapid Cycle Innovation Program (RCIP) and the Accountable Care Learning Hub, part of the newly launched West Health and Duke-Margolis partnership. This session builds on themes introduced in the recent Health Affairs Forefront article, "Rapid Learning For Accountable Care Adoption," and explores how these concepts are being operationalized in practice.

Key Topics Include:

- The Case for Rapid Learning: How rigorous learning, evaluation, and systems-based collaboration can strengthen accountable care adoption, drawing on insights from the Accelerator's Accountable Care Learning Hub and the Health Affairs Forefront paper.

- RCIP Program Overview: How CMMI is leading real-world tests through its RCIP, including the program's design and purpose, the role of key stakeholders, and a preview of the current tests underway to advance the program’s goals.

- Answering High-Priority Accountable Care Policy Questions: How rapid-learning collaboratives can address urgent accountable care policy challenges, spotlighting two early rapid learning collaboratives—focused on H.R.1 implementation and the ACCESS Model.

This webinar is supported by a collaborative initiative between the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy and West Health to advance and accelerate value-based care in the US health care system.