Value based care is a financial model of reimbursing expenses for healthcare services. Healthcare providers have several options of organizing payment for medical services. Even though the ultimate goal of any activity that has to be charged is to extract as much revenue as possible, the demand for quality is extremely prevalent in the field of healthcare. The existing reimbursement models do not address this necessity aside for the value based care model. In total, three major advantages signify the benefits of choosing the value-based care model over others – importance of quality, lower costs, and a larger client base.
The first advantage of choosing value based care is that the focus is shifted to patient outcomes. In a regular fee-for-service model, the amount of expenditures is determined by a number of services performed. In essence, a healthcare provider is incentivized to provide as many services as possible, since it will directly impact the organization’s revenue. However, the downside is that the number of services does not equate to their quality. Meanwhile, the value based care targets the quality of services as its main determinant of cost (Feeley & Mohta, 2018). The subsequent implication is that patients will receive a more individuated approach and clients will prefer an organization with this model to fee-for-service.
The second advantage is the larger influx of clients due to the lower costs. When choosing a healthcare provider, clients look for a cheaper option. One of the reasons why healthcare costs are high lies in the priority of quantity over quality of healthcare services. Subsequently, patients are forced to pay for more doctor visits, which are not always meaningful. Meanwhile, value based care will make each service more expensive, but it will also decrease the overall number of services (Feeley & Mohta, 2018). As a result, the overall cost will lower, as customers will be motivated to take the most advantage of every patient care instance.
The third advantage is a cost measurement system that takes population’s health into account. Alternative models, such as fee-for-services and full risk, focus on the market price of services, while health outcomes do not influence the cost formation. At the same time, value-based model monitors health statistics, including the number of admissions and current practice-based guidelines to establish the prices for their services (Feeley & Mohta, 2018). As a result, the organization with such model will possess the most accurate data regarding the severity of medical conditions.
The fourth advantage is the implementation of a metric system. Unlike other care models, which are interested in the large quantities of services, value-based care forces organizations to constantly reevaluate provided services. The more accessible and useful these services are for patients, the higher the status of the organization that provides these services will be. Subsequently, more clients will choose this organization, which implies better reputation and more income from reimbursement.
In conclusion, three major factors constitute the overall rationale for choosing value-based care – lowering costs, better quality of services, and larger client attractiveness. The main reason why this model gains in popularity is that it accentuates the quality of healthcare services over quantity. When faced with a choice between different reimbursement models, clients will naturally pick the one that will require them to spend the least amount of time and provide the best quality. Value-based care model is preferable precisely because it is qualitative and cost-effective.
Reference
Feeley, T. W., & Mohta, N. S. (2018). New marketplace survey: Transitioning payment models: Fee-for-service to value-based care. NEJM Catalyst, 4(6), 1-16. Web.