What Should I Consider Before Joining an APM?

As physician practices consider joining an alternative payment model (APM), Medical Economics published an interesting list of items that should be considered before making the jump into an APM. This is increasingly important as MACRA incentivizes APMs and private payers are also considering APMs more now than ever. Considerations The Medical Economics article starts by asking a fundamental question: why do you want to participate? This is important because, as David J. Zetter (founder of Zetter Healthcare Management Consultants) noted,  “Ultimately, you should participate in MIPS or an APM because it is also going to help your practice and care for patients improve … a practice needs to understand what they are getting into and what is in it for them.” Next, practices should consider what changes will be necessary for participation and if additional resources are necessary. There may be specific reporting requirements and it is important to see if the APMs’ goals fall in line with those of the practice itself. Third, practices should ensure the APM is feasible for the practice and others. Medical Economics cites Kim Sweet, a healthcare resource administrator for ScrogginsGrear, writing that “practices need to determine the ease or difficulty when building the system, processes and infrastructure that make the APM operational.” One example Sweet cites is the possibility of having to add staff such as diabetes educators or nutritionists. There could also ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs