By relying on collected historical data and prioritizing quality of care over quantity of care, a value-based approach to dermatology cuts down on check-ups and incentivizes more effective medical solutions.
Imagine your company’s revenue depended only on how many products it put out into the world, rather than how many problems those products solved. While you may still be motivated to create a product that provides results — after all, you’re not likely to get return business if your product completely fails to do what it claims to do — such a business model also isn’t likely to incentivize you to create the very best product possible.
It’s this realization that has driven the recent trend in the medical world towards value-based care, which seeks to address that disconnect between the medical incentive structure and the actual health and wellbeing of patients. Instead of trying to treat as many people as possible, practitioners are now being compensated based on how effectively they treat their patients’ ailments.
As the Chairman of Clearlyderm, a leading dermatology program offering advanced digital services, I want to demonstrate how this shift will improve the experiences of both doctors and patients — especially in the field of dermatology.
Advantages of Value-Based Care
Value-based care is a results-driven model that values quality over quantity. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center describes the concept this way: “For patients, [value-based care] means safe, appropriate, and effective care with enduring results at reasonable cost. For [doctors], it means employing evidence-based medicine and proven treatments and techniques that take into account the patient’s wishes and preferences.”
The incentive system that value-based care is intended to replace is called “Fee-For-Service.” In this model, the patient contacts a medical practice to request a specific service, then pays a standard fee for that service (minus whatever is covered by their insurance). Although this arrangement allows patients some freedom in choosing doctors and treatment plans, it puts the matter of cost entirely in the hands of clinicians and insurance companies. Because health providers are primarily incentivized by visit volume, rather than by quality or outcome of care, preventative medicine takes a back seat to short-term treatment.
Under a value-based care system, that incentive is flipped. The switch from fee-for-service has been shown to result in fewer hospital admissions, fewer readmissions, higher rates of generic drug prescription, and an overall decrease in medical costs.
Value-Based Care and Dermatology
The “value” in value-based care must be a quantifiable metric that can be tracked, verified, and rewarded. To that end, Physician Quality Reporting Systems (PQRS) factor in heavily. A PQRS uses both medical data and patient-reported experiences to determine the value of care being provided.
This is particularly important for dermatologists, and here’s why: skin conditions like acne or psoriasis require frequent treatments. Under a value-based care system, the dermatologists administering these treatments are susceptible to penalties if returning patients are frustrated by a lack of results. Practitioners will no longer be able to operate under the assumption that they’ll receive a fixed income for administering treatments that may or may not be effective. This is great news for dermatology patients, who will have some control over the cost of their care.
But while the value-based care model will undoubtedly put more pressure on practitioners to provide tangible results for patients, it will also have a considerable positive impact on the efficacy of their day-to-day work. There’s a critical need for efficient methods of organization in healthcare today, and that requires automation, analytics, and tracking software. With better medical record-keeping come large amounts of data that ultimately lead to more personalized care for each patient.
Some dermatologists may be uneasy with a strictly enforced and tracked value-based care system. However, I’m confident that the long-term effects of this paradigm shift will greatly outweigh whatever growing pains may arise from its implementation. Ultimately, a value-based care approach to health incentivizes better patient care and strengthens doctor-patient relationships — simple as that.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker's Hospital Review/Becker's Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.