Hybrid Primary Care Payment Structure Crucial to Quality Care

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , ,

High quality, patient-centered care requires a hybrid primary care payment system that encourages value-based care and physician quality assurance, according to an opinion article published recently in JAMA.   Researchers responded to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), titled “Implementing High-Quality Primary Care.” The NASEM report depicted a fragile primary care structure in the US…

Predictive Analytics Helps Providers Address Total Cost of Care

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , , , , , ,

Many healthcare systems have made creating high-quality and value-based care a top priority. Southwestern Health Resources (SWHR) used clinical data and predictive analytics to put a total cost of care plan in place to provide affordable and quality care to thousands of patients in North Texas and cost-effective care for their employers. Oftentimes in the healthcare market, purchasers…

The impact of value-based mental health care on racial and ethnic disparities

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , , , , , , ,

Despite high demand, access to quality and affordable mental health care remains a challenge for many Americans. Less than half of those with mental health illness receive care and only about 10 percent of those with substance use disorders receive treatment, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. For people of color,…

Use Value-Based Payment To Resolve The Debate About Telehealth Payment Parity

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , , , , , ,

COVID-19 necessitated widespread loosening of state and federal restrictions on and rapid expansion of telehealth. Now, as policy makers consider telehealth in the post-pandemic period, they must make decisions about payment parity—whether to continue reimbursing clinicians equivalent amounts for in-person and telehealth visits. Some argue that telehealth requires less clinical effort and fewer overhead costs…

FLASH INTERVIEW — Stellar Health

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , , , , , , , ,

 Stellar Health partners with both payors and Accountable Care Organizations to develop a tailored incentive program to reward the completion of granular value-based care actions by primary care providers. The Stellar Health Platform includes the web-based Stellar Application, which delivers a simple checklist of recommended clinical actions to practices based on each patient’s medical…

Five Important Health Care Trends That Consumers Should Track

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In the world of health care, change is never-ending. Politics, government regulation, scientific advancement, technology, and the economics and financing of health care foster shifts to reshape how care is delivered and how much it costs. Many of these shifts are completely invisible to us as health care consumers. But they also drive what is…

The Incentives, Barriers and Levers for Scale in Social Determinants of Health (SDoH)

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , , , ,

Historically, the U.S. healthcare system has evolved based upon the presence of an “event”, i.e., the need for a visit – planned or impromptu – to a medical provider and/or facility. The inefficiencies, glut of utilization and exponentially rising costs that flow from it as funded by the long-standing “fee-for-service” (FFS) payment methodology have been…

Collaborating to Support Better Outcomes Through Value-Based Care

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , , ,

As we look toward brighter days post-pandemic, we would be remiss to not reflect on how COVID-19 has challenged healthcare providers, both clinically and financially. While COVID-19 infections have declined, providers have learned from the turbulence of the past year that being prepared to think strategically about their business is critical to providing affordable, quality…

Value-Centric Legislation Gives ACOs a Leg Up

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, , , ,

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives this week introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen Medicare’s value-based care models and accountable care organizations (ACOs), among other alternative payment models (APMs). Doctors, hospitals and other providers make up an ACO — the group coordinates care for Medicare patients while limiting extraneous services and preventing medical errors. The better…