Direct care and value based programs have more in common than you think

Direct care and value based programs have more in common than you think November 3, 2016

While quality programs like the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) may not directly apply to DPC and concierge practices, there are still implications for these doctors. In fact, MACRA’s new model of reimbursement and reporting requirements may drive more and more physicians away from insurance-based models in favor of more autonomous direct care practices.

At the same time, as the healthcare industry makes the broader shift toward value-based care via MACRA, physicians might look to DPC practices, which have already been providing this type of care for years, to get a better picture for how to deliver high-quality care in light of recent policy changes.

Similarly DPC practices are in a prime position to utilize some of the tools developed for most other primary care physicians to enhance the care they provide for their own patients. Here are some of the things both types of physicians should be looking for as value takes over volume across the healthcare spectrum:

Comprehensive Clinical Insights

Value-focused primary care providers should seek to utilize data and analytics based on patient information to deliver better patient care and make more informed clinical decisions. In addition, highlighting a holistic and longitudinal overview of a patient’s health through an electronic system can help providers drive more comprehensive care.

Patient-Centric Features

Delivering patient-centered care starts with a dynamic, patient-centered chart that allows providers to receive the most accurate and complete picture of their patient’s health. By putting patient data at the center of the care ecosystem, value-based physicians can leverage technology to focus on what matters the most — their patients.

Moreover, features like patient messaging that allow providers to send and receive messages with their patients can drive patient engagement beyond patient encounters and also facilitate a stronger patient-physician relationship. Secure sharing of lab results and encounter information through patient portals can also contribute to high-quality care.

Clinical First Functionality

Tools that are architected around and align with unique clinical workflows can give providers flexibility and support so that they can deliver phenomenal care the way they want to. Technology that is at the cornerstone of efficiency and intuitiveness can help to eliminate repetitive tasks and give value-focused providers the freedom they need to prioritize time with their patients over time spent documenting.

Regardless of the type of practice you have, providing value-based care requires physicians to ensure that they are on top of their patient’s care rather than reimbursements. Consequently, innovative independent physicians of all kinds should look for technology that can meet the needs of value-based care in order to succeed in value-based arrangements.