Value-based care is slowly becoming the name of the game in healthcare.
Value-based care is a payment model that ties the amount providers earn for their services to patient outcomes.
Three key driving forces behind the shift to value-based care are government programs and incentives, advancements in technology and the use of data to gather information.
The model has piqued the interest of companies such as CVS Health, Optum and Amazon, as well as physician groups.
In February, Optum acquired Middletown, N.Y.-based multispecialty group Crystal Run Healthcare. In an email to employees obtained by Mid Hudson News, Hal Teitelbaum, MD, CEO of Crystal Run Healthcare said, "Crystal Run has long recognized that the fee-for-service reimbursement model is broken, and we committed to transition to value-based care focused on the quadruple aim."
It's not just large companies who are dipping their toes into the pool of value-based care. York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health plans to open an ASC focused on value-based care in Lancaster, Pa.
"Our strategy in developing a value-based care model at WellSpan is focused on providing such surgical and digestive health services in these outpatient settings that will both improve quality outcomes and lower costs for our patients," James Stuccio, senior vice president of York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health's east region, said in a news release.
Though value-based care's popularity is growing, just 14 percent of physicians participate in the payment model, according to Medscape's 2023 "Physician Compensation Report." The fee-for-service model is still the most popular payment model by a long shot, with 46 percent of physicians participating in it.