Value-based care models can improve patient outcomes by addressing the underlying factors that impact health. For instance, a population health initiative that discourages smoking in a demographic could lower cases of heart disease.
Instead of focusing on services, value-based care reimburses healthcare providers based on patient outcomes. This shift from a fee-for-service model can lead to many benefits for patients, providers and payers alike.
Improved Patient Care
The patient-centric approach of value based care provides several benefits to the health system. These benefits result in better patient outcomes and ultimately reduce healthcare costs.
Firstly, it improves the quality of patient care by emphasizing treating disease instead of its symptoms. This allows primary care physicians (PCPs) to develop trusting relationships with their patients and address the underlying causes of their conditions rather than just responding to a patient’s presenting symptoms.
PCPs also benefit from a reduced administrative burden thanks to the shift away from fee-for-service models. This helps them focus more on their patients and less on paperwork. This can reduce physician burnout and turnover, which is a big issue in the industry.
Focusing on wellness and prevention also allows providers to avoid unnecessary tests and procedures, lowering overall healthcare costs. This is important, as managing chronic diseases is one of the biggest drivers of overall healthcare costs.
Reduced Healthcare Costs
Managing a chronic disease like diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity can be costly and time-consuming for patients. With value-based care models, however, patients can manage their condition more easily and prevent it from worsening, thus reducing costs. This includes fewer doctor’s visits, medical tests and procedures, and cheaper medication.
By implementing a value-based care model, healthcare providers can also save on healthcare costs. They may earn bonuses or avoid penalties if they meet certain goals, including improving quality measures and patient outcomes and reducing costs.
Suppliers of pharmaceuticals can also benefit from clinical performance management, which aligns their prices with patient outcomes and reduces overall costs. For example, an initiative to minimize lung-related health issues in a population can decrease the number of people who need prescriptions for expensive drugs like narcotics. This ultimately lowers the overall costs of healthcare for the entire society.
Increased Patient Satisfaction
While participation in value-based care (VBC) is rising, more work must be done to increase accessibility and reward providers for improving patient satisfaction. Furthermore, more research into the outcomes of VBC models would be useful—however, the current methods used for studying patient satisfaction with healthcare need to be revised. Studies using pre-post design and non-randomized cohorts are subject to secular trends and contamination by co-occurring interventions, making them less than helpful in determining whether or not an intervention is worthwhile.
Providers participating in VBC programs are incentivized to improve quality, cost, and equity measures. As a result, they focus on prevention and addressing underlying conditions rather than pushing tests or treatments. Patient satisfaction is then tracked and rewarded, resulting in a healthier and more satisfied population. Creating a clear and accessible patient journey is the best way to promote these goals. This includes using propensity modeling to identify the most suitable pilot audience.
Increased Efficiency
Increasing efficiency is paramount in a system where healthcare costs account for GDP. Value-based care programs encourage patient engagement and focus on preventative measures that help reduce costs for both patients and health systems.
Value-based reimbursement models align incentives among physicians, hospitals and other providers with payers, such as Medicare or commercial insurance companies. These models reward or penalize providers based on meeting certain goals, such as quality, cost, and equity. Many of these programs include both upside risk (where providers gain revenue if they meet their goals) and downside risk (where providers lose revenue if they don’t meet their goals).
As a result, patients can enjoy improved outcomes while reducing overall costs, leading to a win-win situation for everyone involved. For example, a population health initiative to discourage smoking in a demographic with an increased risk for heart disease may lower overall healthcare costs by preventing costly emergency department visits or hospital admissions.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
