title: Accountable Care Units: A Disruptive Innovation in Acute Care Delivery.
abstract: Accountable Care Units are a disruptive innovation that has moved care on acute care units from a traditional silo model, in which each discipline works separately from all others, to one in which multiple disciplines work together with patients and their families to move patients safely through their hospital stay. This article describes the "what," "how," and "why" of the Accountable Care Units model as it has evolved in different locations across a single health system and includes the lessons learned as different units and hospitals continue working to implement the model in their complex care environments.
authors.affiliation: Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, Georgia (Mr Castle); and Emory Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Atlanta, Georgia (Dr Shapiro).
authors.forename: Bryan W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Castle
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Shapiro
mesh_terms: D060866:Accountable Care Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D014481:United States