Accountable care organizations are missing an obvious opportunity to reduce attrition and improve patient satisfaction.
At least, that's what Laurence McMahon Jr., MD, Renuka Tipirneni, MD, and Vineet Chopra, MD, think, according to their recent Viewpoint article in JAMA.
The authors cite a study that found the Pioneer ACO program has a 38 percent patient turnover rate and another that found about 60 percent of patients in the Physician Group Practice Demonstration, an ACO precursor, moved between practices and care settings. They note a patient survey conducted by The Advisory Board Company found "most patients aren't loyal."
And yet, businesses outside of healthcare have long focused on loyalty programs because it is more cost-effective to retain customers than find new ones, they generally keep customers happy and because they often prompt customers to refer the company to others, the authors wrote.
So why don't ACOs use loyalty programs to retain patients for accountable, patient-centered care, the authors ask.
A common reason is healthcare organizations often think patients prioritize technical excellence in medical care over poor customer service, scheduling inefficiencies and poor communication.
Drs. McMahon, Tipirneni and Chopra posit that this simply isn't true. The evidence from the ACO studies shows technical excellence does not foster patient loyalty, and they believe patient ability to distinguish excellence is overstated. Rather, patients frequently rely on personal recommendations and online sources that focus on scheduling and access to care in ranking providers.
In the era of patient-centric care, it may be time to usher in the loyalty programs.
More articles on accountable care:
12 accountable care, shared savings agreements in February
Anthem, Franciscan ACO reduced care costs by $22M
13 rural hospitals to form ACO