In healthcare, IPA stands for "Independent Physician Association". An IPA is a business entity that helps independent practitioners support each other by joining a network of independent physician practices for the purpose of reducing overhead or pursuing business ventures such as contracts with employers, accountable care organizations (ACO), and/or managed care organizations (MCO) . By joining an IPA, independent physicians can connect with others in the network and access more resources that improve patient outcomes while lowering overhead costs. IPAs in healthcare give independent physicians the resources to manage their practices more efficiently and to reduce start-up costs. Many IPAs provide services such as payroll, benefits management, bookkeeping, compliance, legal, marketing, and online reputation management services. Additionally, IPAs are able to handle many administrative tasks for members such as claims processing and quality reporting. IPAs are similar to other healthcare organizations like Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), but IPAs are more loosely structured, allowing healthcare providers to maintain more independence while still benefiting from the support of other practitioners. IPAs allow providers to participate in risk contracts even if they lack administrative resources to do so. HMOs or other managed care plans contract with IPAs, and those IPAs in turn contract with independent healthcare providers to provide members with care at a discount or a uniform fee. IPAs serve as the supportive organizations that empower independent physicians by providing infrastructure to methodically enact their healthcare goals and ultimately enhance patient experience and satisfaction.