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How practices are making the shift to Value-Based care

When you think about positioning your practice for success and overall sustainability, the transition to value-based care should be one of the first things that comes to mind. The shift from the fee-for-service model is no longer a trend, but a critical necessity in today’s healthcare environment. The value-based approach is the future of patient care and resisting–or even hesitating–will cost your practice the loss of potential revenue and overall viability.

The central idea behind value-based care is to create a system that is not measured solely by services rendered. Its objective is rooted in redefining quality care by enhancing both patient outcomes and experiences, and improving the health of the patient population, while ultimately reducing the increasingly high costs of healthcare.

Transitioning to this new school of thought will include modifications to organizational workflow and a move away from episodic care. Here are a few practical steps you can take as you prepare your practice for value-based success.

Know your patient population

Under the value-based reimbursement model, patient analytics is a critical factor in population health management. Patients with the highest risk of hospitalization, such as chronic or complex conditions, typically incur the highest health care costs. They’re also the ones who suffer most from fragmented care. Identifying this population will help you isolate areas for improvement.

Analytics also use trends to reveal gaps in care by identifying individual patients who may be accessing health care outside of the traditional channels. For example, when and why do patients visit an urgent care facility or emergency room? Is it after hours or on the weekend? Had they been recently discharged from the hospital? Implement a solution that drives utilization toward a high-quality, lower-cost alternative. Ultimately, patients must feel their needs are being met without going outside the box. In some instances, enrolling patients in a care transition program might be the answer.

Analytic software can also help you identify other unnecessary costs. Compare costs for imaging services used by your practice or the cost of supplies. Your findings may reveal that an imaging center used by your practice is more expensive than another comparable one in your area. That’s an easy way to reduce expenses.

Invest in the right technology

With value-based care reimbursement, it’s critical to employ the technologies that support your overall goal. Clinical decision support tools provide the knowledge and patient-specific information that enhances decision-making in the clinical workflow and ultimately improves care. By providing a playbook of protocols, these tools eliminate waste by minimizing unnecessary tests. They also improve patient safety by giving providers access to a patient’s complete medical records, a comprehensive view of their overall health, and a method of easily and quickly sharing patient data with other health systems as needed.

Improve patient engagement

Engaging patients in their health and care is a critical component of value-based care. Patients who are engaged have greater knowledge, ability, skills, and willingness to successfully manage their health and are more compliant with doctors’ orders and recommendations. Investing in engagement leads to better outcomes and lower costs, which are both critical in value-based care.

Patient portals are an ideal method of improving engagement because you effectively give patients access to your practice and a level of control that empowers them. Enrollment, visit summaries, online appointment booking, collecting family health history, and email communication are just some examples of the value and efficiency it can offer your practice and your patients.

Couple that with the creation of care teams who follow patients through their care cycle and beyond, you allow for a more longitudinal care approach. This approach can bring about sustainable change in your patient relationships and how they view their care.

Each step on the way to value-based care should be viewed as a learning experience. As these experiences provide you with more knowledge and understanding about what works best, you can make the changes that will better meet your patient needs.

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