Dive Brief:
- Unlike banking and retail, healthcare is still looking for that disruptive innovation that will transform the industry in a compelling way and deliver high-quality care at reduced cost, according to Bain & Company’s third annual Front Line of Healthcare report.
- More than 6 in 10 doctors believe it will become harder to provide high-quality care in the next two years, as they seek evidence that new care management, reimbursement, policy and patient engagement models yield better clinical outcomes.
- That’s resulted in a slowdown in adoption of value-based payment models, the report says. More than 70% of physicians in 2017 prefer fee-for-service over alternative payment models, and 53% say capitation actually hurts quality of care.
Dive Insight:
Bain & Company surveyed 980 physicians in eight specialties, 100 finance officers and 100 procurement officers, focusing not just on how healthcare is funded, but on doctors’ and administrators’ priorities in care delivery and has authority over major decisions.
Lack of enthusiasm for value-based care is largely tied to lack of evidence that patient outcomes will improve. They also cite the complexity of many of the newer models.
Where progress is being seen is in organizations that empower their physicians, the report notes.
More than 80% of surgeons and procurement officers said they collaborate on medical equipment purchases to ensure both clinical and economic value. And 43% say their procurement department has a positive effect on cost and quality of care. By contrast, nonsurgical doctors feel hemmed in by payer restrictions, particularly in prescribing drugs.
At the same time, larger, management-led organizations are more willing to make the investment and adopt new frameworks and protocol-based care than smaller, physician-led practices.
To speed up the shift to value-based care and increase physician buy-in, providers need to engage their physicians and include them in management decisions. “Physicians tell us that they are open to new cost-saving models, but need to be on the front line of change helping health systems identify which approaches create value for patients, and which don’t,” the report says.
Building collaborative relationships with physicians will also be important for medical device and pharma manufacturers, the report notes. For example, more than 6 in 10 surgeons rank “strongest existing relationship” with a medtech manufacturer as a key purchasing determinant — up from 46% two years ago.