Value-Based Payments Will Improve Care 18% of Physicians Say

Although 47 percent of physicians’ compensation is tied to quality or value, only 18 percent of physicians say value-based payments will improve care or cut costs, a report from Merritt Hawkins found.

Merritt Hawkins, a physician recruiting firm, emailed its Survey of America’s Physicians to almost every U.S. physician with an email address listed in the American Medical Association’s Physician Master File. Merritt Hawkins received 8,774 survey responses.

Here are three other report findings:

1. When asked to what degree third-party authorizations, treatment protocols or EHR design adversely affect patient care, 33 percent of physicians said “a good deal” and 29 percent said “a great degree.” Only about 2 percent of physicians said these factors did not adversely affect patient care.

2. The report found 31 percent of physicians’ patients do not consistently adhere to their treatment plans.

3. Most physicians (88 percent) said some, many or all their patients have a social situation, such as poverty or unemployment, that presents a significant hindrance to their health.