MGMA 2022: Study finds most respondents agree value-based care is better for patient care quality

A joint study between the Medical Group Management Association and Humana took a close look at value-based care and how practices approach it. The study was presented at MGMA 2022 conference in Boston.

One of the most surprising is that 63% of respondents had less than one quarter of their practice’s revenue based on performance in value-based contracts, despite expert predictions for years that value-based care would soon supplant fee-for-service. Only 15% of respondents said that more than half of their revenue was from value-based care contracts.

Despite the slow uptake, 67% agreed that value-based care was better in the level of quality care provided to patients, but 46% said fee-for-service is better for the ease of practice management. The biggest challenges identified to adding more value-based care contracts was a lack of staff resources, lack of control over patient care-seeking behavior, and lack of control over other providers.

When it comes to investing for value-based care, 74% had added staff, while 71% added technology to assist with the shift. This technology was usually (82%) data analytics/reporting or population health management (57%). Staff changes were most likely to be care coordination (72%) or care management (67%) additions.

When paid resources were added, nearly half (47%) of those surveyed indicated that staff provided the greatest positive impact on patient health outcomes based on return-on-investment. Technology was second with 21%, with patient engagement (17%) and social determinants of health considerations (3%) ranking next.