As CMS transitions into the TEAM Mandate, many hospital leaders find themselves navigating familiar territory: bundled payments. Programs like BPCI Advanced, CJR, and OCM have already taught the industry valuable lessons about episode-based care, risk stratification, and performance measurement.

The good news? These early adopters provide a blueprint for what it takes to succeed under TEAM.

In this article, we surface key takeaways, common pitfalls, and real-world success strategies from hospitals that have walked the bundled path—so your organization doesn’t have to start from scratch.

What Bundled Payment Veterans Have Learned

• You Need More Than Clinical Excellence: Success depends on data accuracy, patient engagement, and financial stewardship—not just outcomes.
• Standardized Pathways Drive Cost Savings: Hospitals reduced variation in care and costs by implementing standardized, multidisciplinary clinical pathways.
• PROMs Must Be Embedded, Not Optional: Patient-reported outcomes are essential for tracking quality and aligning with CMS expectations.
• Social Risk Matters: Institutions that accounted for Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) saw improved care transitions and fewer readmissions.
• Real-Time Dashboards Are Non-Negotiable: Retrospective reports lead to missed opportunities. Data must be real-time and actionable.

Common Challenges Bundled Programs Faced (and How to Avoid Them)

• Poor episode attribution logic: Lack of clarity on which provider or hospital was responsible.
• PROM capture delays: Too many manual touchpoints caused data loss or non-compliance.
• Inconsistent care coordination: Communication gaps between departments led to readmissions.
• Limited visibility into post-acute care: Missed savings and outcome tracking opportunities.

TEAM will penalize these gaps more severely, especially with its centralized performance monitoring via TEAM Connect.

Best Practices to Apply Under TEAM

• Implement Digital PROM Workflows: Use mobile-first tools to ensure high response rates before and after episodes.
• Build an Episode Command Center: Centralize data, dashboards, and analytics to monitor every stage of the care journey.
• Coordinate Beyond the Walls: Include post-acute providers, primary care, and community partners in shared episode performance metrics.
• Align Risk Scoring with HCC Logic: Use automated crosswalk engines to ensure every diagnosis supports accurate risk capture.
• Educate & Incentivize Clinicians: Drive frontline engagement with performance-based incentives tied to TEAM KPIs.

What This Means for TEAM-Readiness

The move to TEAM is not theoretical. CMS is mandating episode-based care at scale, backed by performance-linked payments.

Unlike voluntary models, TEAM will be mandatory for many providers under IPPS FY26 and beyond.

Hospitals that learn from bundled predecessors can accelerate:

• Infrastructure upgrades
• Data integrity initiatives
• Care pathway standardization
• Compliance culture shift

SolvEdge Insight: Platform-Powered Bundled Intelligence

• Episode-based analytics engine with real-time dashboards
• Digital PROM capture linked to EHR workflows
• Risk adjustment automation built for TEAM’s HCC crosswalk logic
• Care coordination playbooks that connect inpatient, post-acute, and home health
• Performance benchmarking against TEAM quality and cost targets

Hospitals using SolvEdge reduce risk exposure, optimize episode spend, and stay ahead of CMS audits.

Look Back to Move Forward

The TEAM Mandate may be new, but the road to success has already been mapped. Hospitals that learn from bundled payment experiences—both wins and setbacks—will avoid costly missteps and drive faster ROI.

TEAM readiness starts with one question: Are we applying what the bundled pioneers already learned the hard way?