Introducing your Value-Based Payment Staff
If you haven’t heard, the newest buzz term is Value-Based Payment. It’s so hot right now, like Hansel from Zoolander. Of course, it is the same thing as pay-for-performance, quality metrics and on and on. They just change the name and make everyone change their practices. Here is what the newest fad will entail:
As they shift to value-based payment, primary care practices will need staff with a higher skill mix aimed at keeping patients healthy, according to a new analysis.
Practices will need to add new staff such as behavioral health providers, social workers, nutritionists, and pharmacist support, according to a white paper from Premier Inc., a healthcare improvement company.
Of course, if you are in private practice doing FFS then you can’t afford that. In fact, no one can. The hospital employed practices will also lose money on it. But the ivory tower idiots, who thought of this thing, will love it.
It’s sad. It’s funny. It’s an emotional roller coaster of bullshit. But I, as a DPC doc, never have to deal with it.
I remember when they thought the ACA would save money, which is how it got it’s name. The chronically ill were supposed to get their outpatient care to prevent hospitalizations, which of course wasn’t even given a chance of happening when they also decided to allow high deductibles. Somehow the somewhat functional people think everyone else would be if they only could meet with a nutritionist or something. The small practice that doesn’t hire these people should do just as well. And it would be kind of nice to get something for all that work we do trying to keep our patients out of the hospital if it works sometimes.
High value for insurers, no value for patients, negative value for physicians.
Again – the bigger the factory, the better the quality of widgets manufactured; by definition. It looks orderly, no?
“No honey, I can’t make it, you and the kids have a great time at the beach. I’ve got to moonlight over the weekend to pay for the new nutritionist. “. Bwwwaaaaaaaa???
So…our job now is to “keep people healthy”. What did these ivory tower idiots think we were doing before, keeping people sick ?
Yeah, sure, so we could make more money…