CMS TEAM Model Micro-Credential for Healthcare Value Analysis Professionals, Leaders, and Industry Partners 

About the CMS TEAM Model:

The Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) is CMS’s next-generation, mandatory episode-based payment model that holds selected acute-care hospitals financially and clinically accountable for the full surgical episode — beginning with the index procedure and extending through 30 days after discharge. TEAM covers five high-volume surgical episodes (including lower-extremity joint replacement, surgical hip/femur fracture, spinal fusion, CABG, and major bowel procedures) and was finalized as a five-year mandatory model beginning January 1, 2026.

CMS designed TEAM to push hospitals from isolated procedural decisions toward coordinated, episode-level responsibility: every qualifying episode is reconciled against regional target prices and quality adjustments, so hospitals can earn bonus payments or face penalties depending on cumulative cost and quality performance. TEAM builds on prior CMS episode models but is broader and mandatory for selected hospitals, which significantly raises the stakes for operational and clinical leaders.

The CMS Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) covers five high-volume surgical episodes. They are:

• Lower extremity joint replacement (major joint replacement of the lower extremity — LEJR)
• Surgical hip and femur fracture treatment (SHFFT)
• Spinal fusion
• Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
• Major bowel (major bowel procedures)

For healthcare value analysis (VA) teams, TEAM changes the frame of decision-making in three practical ways. First, decisions about devices, supply bundles, and environmental controls must be defensible at the episode level — not only by unit cost or clinician preference but by how each choice influences 30-day outcomes and total episode cost (e.g., SSI, readmission, reoperation). VA teams will need to map procurement choices to episode outcomes and produce auditable evidence (process and early surrogate measures) that supports downstream clinical and financial effects.

Second, TEAM accelerates the need for rapid, pragmatic pilots and local evidence generation. Because reconciliation payments depend on cumulative episode performance, hospitals will favor interventions that can be piloted, measured, and scaled quickly — with VA teams leading pilot design (KPIs, sampling plans, run-charts, and ROI briefs) to demonstrate value within the TEAM timeframe. Third, VA leaders will be central to cross-functional governance: aligning infection prevention, perioperative services, supply chain, finance, and post-acute partners to ensure device choices, workflows, and vendor arrangements support episode accountability. In short, TEAM makes value analysis more strategic — requiring episode-mapped evidence, faster learning cycles, and tighter alignment with quality and financial stakeholders.

Micro-Credential Program Description:

The TEAM Insight: CMS TEAM Model for Healthcare Value Analysis micro-credential gives you exactly what busy value analysis professionals, GPO leaders, and industry partners need: practical, mission-critical skills you can use the next day. In just three hours (plus a short pre-work and course project), you’ll move beyond theory and walk away with ready-to-deploy templates, a pilot protocol, and a one-page evidence pack that helps your team meet episode-based accountability expectations under CMS TEAM. If your organization is preparing for episode reporting, tightening perioperative controls, or rethinking procurement decisions in a value-based world, this course accelerates your ability to lead those efforts with confidence and measurable results.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this micro-credential participants will be able to:

1. Describe the CMS TEAM model structure and articulate why episode-level accountability matters to value analysis decisions.

2. Map the five TEAM surgical episodes to key value analysis touchpoints (device selection, environmental controls, surveillance, credentialing).

3. Design a pragmatic 30–90 day pilot that links device/process interventions to episode-level process and surrogate outcomes suitable for TEAM reporting.

4. Construct a concise, episode-aligned evidence pack (runtime logs, sampling results, KPI dashboard, executive 1-pager) for internal review and external reporting.

5. Build a stakeholder engagement plan that secures clinical, infection prevention, and finance sponsorship for TEAM-aligned pilots.

6. Use a simple ROI/risk template to quantify potential financial impact and break-even scenarios for episode interventions.

7. Critically appraise common Industry Partner claims against TEAM evidence needs and develop targeted discovery questions for product evaluations.

Program Outline (5 Hours):

Welcome & Learning Roadmap 

• Introductions, objectives, prework quick poll, and participant expectations.

Module 1: TEAM Essentials for Value Analysis

• Compact overview of the five episodes and implications for procurement, IPC, and measurement. (Micro-lecture + Q&A)

Module 2: Where VA Adds Value Across the Episode

• Map common VA activities to episode touchpoints (device selection, IFU alignment, reprocessing, supply resilience). Interactive whiteboard examples.

Module 3: Designing a TEAM-Aligned Pilot 

• Stepwise pilot template (scope, endpoints, sampling plan, governance, decision thresholds). Small teams draft pilot scopes for a chosen episode.

Module 4: Evidence Packs & What Surveyors/Payors Want

• Build the one-page evidence pack: runtime logs, environmental samples, KPI dashboard, executive brief. Live demo of a sample pack.

Module 5: Finance & Risk — Simple ROI & Value Story

• Walkthrough of the one-page ROI template and how to translate surrogate/process gains into avoided cost and risk reduction.

Applied Exercise: Rapid Case & Peer Review 

Accreditation:

• This program is accredited for 5.0 hours of continuing education credits for nursing professionals. This program is accredited for 5.0 hours of continuing education credits for CVAHP board recertification. 

2026 Cohorts:

• January 23, 2026: 1-4 pm ET

Credential Award

• Participants completing each program will earn a digital badge from the AHVAP Certification Center.

Pricing:

AHVAP Member Pricing: $175

Non-Member Pricing: $349

Registration is NOW Open. Deadline is January 21 at 5:00 p.m. ET