Jan
Physicians serve a vital role in the medical field and require a compensation strategy that allocates for the diversity of their work and role. This is especially true in the post-pandemic era, as physician burnout is on the rise. According to Mayo Clinic, 42% of physicians currently report being burned out in the profession. Value-based care provides valuable benefits to physicians in this position and can be a strategy that organizations use to prevent further burnout from occurring. In this article, we discuss what value-based physician compensation is, and how it can benefit your organization.
What is value-based physician compensation?
Value-based compensation is a framework that is being popularized throughout the medical field. The core concept of the strategy is that physicians are given financial incentives to encourage physicians to offer preventative care options to patients. The overarching goal is to keep patients in a healthier space and minimize the instances of them coming in to seek higher-level treatment.
The emphasis placed on preventative care and self-screening may help reduce instances of chronic or misdiagnosed illnesses. The physicians would then be compensated for their efforts and adherence to key performance indicators (KPI’s) determined by their governing organization, such as adhering to care standards and pre-set processes. This ideology is supported by a variety of higher-level healthcare organizations, such as the American Academy of Family Physicians.
What are the benefits of the value-based compensation framework?
There are many benefits to a value-based compensation system for physicians. We’ve compiled a list below:
Health care spending is reduced for purchasers and payers
In the value-based model, the goal is to have preventative wellness be pervasive among society naturally, and shift the societal focus from treatment of illness to the preservation of wellness. Because of this, experts believe that this model will help to significantly reduce payer costs, making healthcare more accessible at a more tolerable level for physicians than the current caseload.
Although the overall spending may be reduced, physicians will still be preserving their compensation and incentivized benefit payments based on their performance and ability to keep their patients well. Many healthcare organizations see this as a mutually beneficial strategy for both physicians and patients, allowing them to shift focus and resources from treating preventable illnesses to addressing more complex cases in their communities.
Collaboration is encouraged as physicians practice in their specialty
If this approach were to be adopted, physicians could have the needed time and resources to allocate to each patient, as the strain and caseload would be far reduced from what it is today. This offers doctors new opportunities to collaborate within their own areas of expertise on behalf of a patient and reduces instances of mistakes, missed details, and misdiagnosis for patients. Collaborative care also benefits the patients and offers them a more comprehensive view of their illness and prognosis. They may also feel as if they have received a higher level of care, as they were able to have the physician’s full attention for the duration of their appointment.
Patient satisfaction and preventative wellness rates increase
In this framework, patient satisfaction is helpful to encourage them to participate further in preventative measures and to take ownership of their own health. This not only benefits patients but also providers as well — helping them to meet their key performance standards set forth by their professional organizations. Providers are then incentivized to offer the patient the best experience possible to encourage them to self-manage their health journeys where appropriate.
Healthcare becomes more accessible to all
Currently, insurance companies have risen their costs to ensure that they can cover the current cost of care for their spectrum of patients. The value-based model is essential to consider, as it can also lower costs for insurance entities as well. Because of the drop in cost, these companies will be encouraged to lower their rates, in turn, to allow more people to come into the health plan. They will be inclined to do this in order to remain competitive among their other competing agencies. The lowered costs could make healthcare more accessible to patients than ever before, and help them to seek higher levels of necessary care to return to full health.
Patient benefits from strategic classification and care
Finally, this model helps patients to be treated in a more strategic manner, keeping their needs at the forefront of treatment. Patients can collaborate within an organization and across specialties to classify patients based on a variety of risk factors and facets of their case. This helps to prioritize more at-risk patients and work effectively throughout the patient group to ensure that all needs are addressed in a timely manner. This is also a great way to help physicians to reach key performance indicators quickly, further incentivizing and compensating them for their organizational efforts.
Physician compensation requires a centralized and digitized approach
When considering the dynamics of physician compensation, it is important to maintain a consistent, centralized, and digitized approach. FeePulse is your premier solution to address physician compensation in your healthcare organization. We offer cloud-based, user-friendly solutions that streamline your payment and reporting process. Compensation execution can be resource-intensive and difficult to complete given the varying types of compensation that your team may be eligible to receive, which is where FeePulse can help. For more information about how your team can benefit from FeePulse, please contact us today at 848-200-0448