Physician practices moving to take advantage of value-based care arrangements need to take a fundamentally different approach when it comes to managing, tracking and reporting the care they are providing patients.
And technology—when chosen and implemented appropriately—can be a key component for success. Technology can be a benefit for any physician practice participating in a value-based care arrangement. In addition to helping manage how key practice performance outcomes are tracked and reported, technology can also help identify opportunities for leveraging new or enhanced financial incentives that can be used to improve the overall health status of an identified individual patient or entire population in their community.
The AMA’s “Investment in technology for value-based care” (PDF) resource provides physician practices the guidance they need to understand key concepts in vetting how technologies may assist their value-based care efforts and it also provides information that can aid in negotiating vendor agreements.
“Practices should be thoughtful about their options and consider possible business and legal risks as they evaluate strategic alternatives,” the resource says. “Practices can maximize their chances of success by developing a clear picture of their existing capabilities, gaps or needs that must be addressed by any technological tool, and value-based care strategies.”
The 24-page document walks through five key things that physician practices need to understand, evaluate and make decisions on. The guidance highlights key considerations and includes links to case studies from practices that have already adopted technology.
Getting started
Physician practices that are participating in or exploring value-based care arrangements first need to evaluate what gap or need there is in their practice.
This can be done by asking questions about whether the practice is trying to improve documentation, augment data analytic capabilities, implement a new care intervention, report performance data, or integrate into other data system used by clinical partners, among other goals. Practices should also ask whether they prefer to overhaul a technology suite or add or improve certain business functions.
To answer these questions, leaders may need to first decide what the practice’s overall value-based care goals are. From there, the AMA’s guidance helps practices think through these five areas.
Common types of value-based care-related technologies available to practices. There are a number of types of technologies practices can implement, for example, electronic health records can be set up in a way that best works for them to appropriately document patient care and help meet regulatory requirements, while analytic tools can help physicians and care teams understand how they are currently preforming and predict outcomes and model strategy adjustments for the future.
Meanwhile, patient engagement and health improvement tools can help patients manage and monitor their own health. Learn how Hattiesburg Clinic (PDF) and Geisinger (PDF) has leveraged technology for value-based care. Hattiesburg Clinic and Geisinger are part of the AMA Health System Member Program, which provides enterprise solutions to equip leadership, physicians and care teams with resources to help drive the future of medicine.
Essential practice considerations. Technology investment can be a big expense, so it’s important to think about questions such as whether a technology will fit seamlessly with existing or remaining technology infrastructure, how it aligns with longer term strategic goals, data security, regulatory risks and cultural fit, including workflow disruptions and increased burnout risk.
Negotiating technology agreements. Learn how to identify prospective vendors and solutions and to understand the types of technology agreements that are out there. This section of the guidance also walks readers through technology-specific contract considerations, including what the agreement will fully cost, how long it will take to complete the project, whether the practice incur any liability from the technology and whether data be safe and secure.
Collection and use of data. As practices consider bringing in a business associate through technology agreements, they need to understand a vendor’s physical, administrative and technical safeguards to protect patient health information.
The guidance walks through the importance of questions such as: Does the vendor have HIPAA-related policies and procedures? Who is their privacy officer? Have they had security incidents or data breeches? If they answer yes, how has the incident been handled? What are the disaster recovery and backup plans?
Compliance considerations. Incorporating technology can raise unique compliance considerations when it comes to professional liability, physician investment in technology companies and paying for technology tools. Organizations must make sure they are abiding by applicable state and federal laws and regulations. The guidance helps explain pitfalls that physician practices need to avoid, including the federal Anti-Kickback Statute.
From AI implementation to digital health adoption and EHR usability, the AMA is fighting to make technology work for physicians, ensuring that it is an asset to doctors.
The new AMA Center for Digital Health and AI will address four key areas that are pivotal to the long-term success of these technologies:
- Policy and regulatory leadership—working with regulators, policymakers and technology leaders to shape benchmarks for safe and effective use of AI in medicine and digital health tools.
- Clinical workflow integration—creating opportunities for physicians to shape AI and digital tools so they work within clinical workflows and enhance patient and clinician experience.
- Education and training—equipping physicians and health systems with knowledge and tools to integrate AI efficiently and effectively into practice.
- Collaboration—building partnerships across the tech, research, government and health care sectors to drive innovation aligned with patient needs.
