The Central Peninsula Hospital is overhauling the model they use to treat patients by developing coordinated care where hospitals and physicians are reimbursed for quality versus quantity of procedures.
CPH Chief Executive Officer Rick Davis says the incentives that prompt hospitals and physicians to treat as many people as possible has not been the best model. Now the focus will be more coordinated between mental, physical, and preemptive care.
Davis: “The concept of better coordinated care means that the incentives are aligned for the patient to be overall more healthy and not use services whereas the incentives now are to provide services when people need them and charge them for it.”
He says hospitals in the Lower 48 have seen a decrease in costs and increase in quality when using this method.
As the healthcare climate continues to change, Davis says Medicaid and insurance companies will tighten their definitions on necessary procedures, cutting back on what hospitals and physicians will be reimbursed for.
By changing models Davis believes it will defend the hospital from potentially detrimental financial losses sometime in the future.