Focus on Physician Networks
Driven by changing demands of the market, the core focus of healthcare leaders must evolve. Managing episodic patient care delivery, with a focus on hospital operations, will decline in importance. Your team’s ability to work with a tightly aligned employed physician network, to manage and rationalize care across the continuum, will grow in importance.
Two trends are driving this reality: the growth in value-based payments and the growth in hospital employment of physicians, particularly in primary care. The percentage of payments tied to value-based incentives grew from 23% in 2015 to 34% in 2017. CMS has a goal to hit 50% by 2020. Healthcare executives clearly recognize this trend, with a 2018 survey by Lumeris documenting that 72% of executives consider planning for the transition to risk-based contracting to be a high priority.
At the same time, hospital employment of physicians continues to grow, approaching 50% of the physician market nationwide. The intersection of these two trends compels health systems to develop a strong employed physician network that can focus on delivering predictable outcomes across the continuum, whether cost, quality, or experience related.
Read the full Focus on Physician Networks article as originally published by Modern Healthcare
Originally Posted by Modern Healthcare in May 2020. Authored by HSG Founding Partner, David Miller.