Alternative payment models can help improve patient care

(HealthDay)—Alternative payment models (APMs) have been and are being developed that can allow physicians to offer new and improved services to their patients, according to a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).

Noting that many services that could help patients manage their health conditions are not always paid for by Medicare, the article discussed APMs that can allow physicians to offer new services to their patients.

The article describes seven payment models that address three physician needs. These include the ability to deliver a high-value service that isn't currently paid for; this can be addressed with payment for a high-value service and warrantied payment for physician services. The second need is the ability to share payments with other physicians and providers, which could be addressed by use of multi-physician bundled payments or physician-facility procedure bundles. The final physician need is the flexibility to use lower-cost treatment options to improve outcomes without impacting profit margins, which could be addressed with condition-based payment for a physician's services, episode payment for a procedure, and condition-based payment for all services related to a specific condition.

"In order to help accelerate efforts to develop physician-designed APMs in all specialties, the AMA also compiled a step-by-step process that medical specialties can use to develop successful payment models for their physicians," according to the article.