Providers tepid on bundles
Uncertainty of the impact of health reform and scalability restrains providers
While consumers indicated in a recent survey that they like the bundled care model, a new survey on provider attitudes towards bundles finds mixed reviews.
Fifty-nine percent of physicians in larger, multispecialty groups or who are employed by a health system are more active and interested in bundles than their single-specialty peers (34 percent), says the latest study in Booz & Company’s three-part series on bundled care models.
[See also: Poll finds consumers like bundled care]
Forty-four percent of single-specialty practitioners are more likely to doubt the efficacy of bundles than doctors who are in multispecialty groups (27 percent).
About 30 percent of hospitals participating in the survey are already pursuing bundled care models and another 51 percent are considering the idea. The larger health systems (making more than $1 billion in annual revenues) are already in the process of implementing bundles and nearly all the large systems surveyed expect to develop bundles.
Only 24 percent of smaller health systems are actively pursuing bundles, with 20 percent saying they see little efficacy in the model.
Survey results are based on responses from 424 physicians and 138 hospital administrators.
Providers’ hesitancy toward bundles is largely based on the continued uncertainty the industry is facing, said Minoo Javanmardian, PhD, a partner with Booz who works with the global management and strategy consulting firm’s healthcare clients.
Scalability is also a concern for providers, she said.
“The larger health systems have both more bandwidth as well as more money to invest in these efforts going forward and be more forward-thinking about it,” she said. Smaller providers don’t have those resources.
And moving from a fee-for-service operational model to a bundled model is a serious challenge for all providers, she noted.
Providers who see the value of bundles believe the model will result in high-quality care and reduced costs, the survey said.
Sixty-four percent of the 42 survey respondents already offering bundles reported cost savings, but 24 percent said they were not sure if cost savings were achieved, and about 12 percent said they saw no savings.
