News: Physicians lack confidence in value-based initiatives’ ability to right healthcare landscape, according to study

Most physicians don’t think value-based payment models will cut healthcare costs and improve quality of care, according to a new study by Leavitt Partners.

The survey did find that physicians, employers, and healthcare consumers agree that changes are needed to make the United States’ health system work better, but they don’t agree on the methods, according to FierceHealthcare.

Though more accountable care organizations (ACOs) exist today than ever before, the study found that only 22% of the 621 physicians surveyed thought ACOs would lower healthcare spending. Only 21% thought bundled payment models would solve things, though CMS recently announced a brand new bundled payment model.

Cost transparency and emphasis on wellness and prevention each received more support as possible solutions (garnering 50% and 60%, respectively, of physicians’ responses).

While CMS’ various value-based programs are meant to incentivize physicians to provide quality care at better prices, the problem may be that they’re not aware of the programs in the first place, according to an earlier study. That study, published by Medscape in 2016, found that 28.6% of physicians had never heard of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) and 39.2% said that, though they’d heard of MACRA, they didn’t know much about it.

“In an economic environment that mandates changes to the healthcare system,” the Leavitt Partners report says, “it is especially important to create a strong business case for providers to participate in value-based payment models.” 

Without educational efforts on value-based initiatives, however, that case may be difficult to make to physicians. As CDI professionals well know, physician buy-in is a vital part to success. To read more about educating physicians on the topic of quality programs, read this issue of the CDI Journal from March/April 2017.

Editor’s note: To read FierceHealthcare’s coverage of this story, click here. To download the Leavitt Partners survey and report, click here. To download the Medscape report from 2016, click here.