Personal attitudes inform our strategies for improving patient health. As ACOs move forward in Value-Based Health Care, attitudes about patients and providers set the stage for collaboration or conflict. And with ACOs taking on financial risk for patients, those attitudes and strategies can make the difference between success and failure. As we discussed in a…
Patient-centered care requires including their voices in care decisions. So the American College of Physicians has issued a series of principles designed to make those conversations more effective. The four guidelines were developed by the ACP’s Patient Partnership in Healthcare Committee (PPHC), which includes patients, clinicians and pharmacists. The group surveyed patients and providers to build the…
Although telemedicine visits have increased sharply in the U.S. in recent years, the vast majority of American adults still receive care from doctors in person rather than via remote technology, a new study suggests. The goal of telemedicine is to help improve access to specialty care, particularly in rural, underserved areas of the country, researchers…
While 2017 was a year of turmoil with legislative uncertainty over the potential Affordable Care Act reforms, vendors entered 2018 with optimism that providers would accelerate their shift towards value-based care and risk-sharing contracts. However, this optimism seems to have subsided as the year has progressed, with many now painting a bleaker picture for the…
Inevitably, healthcare incentives continue to transition from the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) model to a value-based payment system. A recent modernization to how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will pay providers for skilled nursing facility (SNF) performance is proof. And if you want to achieve success in alternative payment models (APMs), such as bundled payments…
To drive down health care costs and improve outcomes for patients with chronic illnesses, New York’s Northwell Health hospital system is training health care workers who can better relate to—and help—people from underserved and largely minority communities. Less than a year old, Northwell’s program has trained nearly 30 people to become community health workers, a…
Does the care process end once the patient leaves the facility? Is the definition of a doctor limited to the four walls where a patient rarely spends the 16th minute? I could say without even thinking twice, the answer that would have come up in your mind is a clear ‘NO.’ We all can agree…
As electronic health records (EHRs) have moved from paper to computers over the past decade — nearly 90% of office-based physicians now have an EHR — “Can’t you just look it up on the computer?” has become an increasing refrain from patients expecting their medical history to be at their physician’s digital fingertips. For integrated…
The footprint of accountable care organizations (ACO) continues to change. At the start of 2018, there are approximately 1,000 ACOs covering 32.7 million consumers—approximately 11% of the U.S. insured population (294.6 million)—under 1,477 different contracts (see After A Slow 2017, ACOs Grow & Expand Their Contracts In 2018). The coverage varies by payer. According to…
One day you wake up with a pain in your side that persists. You want to be seen by a medical professional, but you don’t want to go through the hassle of making an appointment and schlepping to your doctor. Most large healthcare organizations now allow you to make an appointment with a physician and…