Patient-centered care needs support
MGMA-ACMPE report suggests more efforts are needed for the patient-centered care approach to succeed
While more and more physician practices are focusing on patient-centered care, more support efforts are needed, according to recent report by MGMA-ACMPE.
“There are certainly many issues that need to be addressed in our system, such as reimbursement cuts and overwhelming administrative complexity, as well as the need to similarly and meaningfully coordinate disparate government programs,” said Susan Turney, MD, president and CEO of MGMA-ACMPE.
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“These issues burden physician practices with redundant processes and redirects valuable resources away from patient care.”
Dave Gans, vice president of innovation and research, practice management resources at MGMA-ACMPE and one of the authors of the report, said that for patient-centered care to really expand, the importance of reimbursement must be recognized, and to some degree, he said, that recognition is beginning to happen. He cited as an example the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ shared savings accountable care program.
Not every effort to support patient-centered care has to be complicated. Ron Menaker, EdD, administrator for cardiovascular services at Mayo Clinic, said support can be as simple as using more patient advisory groups. Mayo’s cardiology practice launched a patient advisory group in 2008.
The patient advisory group meets monthly and is comprised of 10 to 20 patients and family members, he said. It has reviewed safety enhancements and educational materials and helped design new care processes.
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“They gave us a better understanding of how we could interact with patients …,” said Menaker. “The result has been a better design of outpatient processes.”
