The American Medical Association has adopted a policy to endorse and define physician-led team-based healthcare.
The AMA's adoption of the definition is part of the AMA's initiative that supports improving quality of care while reducing costs through the use of value-based care models, according to a news release.
Under the team-based approach, a range of health professionals — nurses, social workers, pharmacists and others — are involved in the primary care of patients, keeping them out of the hospital setting and also managing chronic conditions when appropriate.
The AMA defined physician-led team-based healthcare as "the consistent use by a physician of the leadership knowledge, skills and expertise necessary to identify, engage and elicit from each team member the unique set of training, experience and qualification needed to help patients achieve their goals, and to supervise the application of these skills," according to the news release.
"The policy passed today will help physicians transition to new care models by promoting flexibility to develop practice designs based on physician needs, the populations they serve, relevant state laws and protection from the burdens that would come from a one-size-fits-all approach," said Ardis D. Hoven, MD, president of the AMA, in the news release.
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