What do Providers Need to Succeed in Value-based Payment Models? Patient Engagement Solutions

Value-based care relies on good patient engagement. That means delivering care with cultural competency, understanding the social factors influencing patient care access and engagement, offering sufficient self-care education, and being compassionate to patients with all needs.  Patient engagement drives better outcomes and customized care. When patients engage in care decisions, they understand their role in the care team and their health, increasing accountability.

In addition, patients want more information about how to care for themselves, and patient education can improve patient outcomes. A survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of Samueli Integrative Health Programs indicated that more than 70% of patients would like to discuss self-care with their providers. This is a challenge for PCPs, who spend an average of 15 minutes with each patient.

To fill this gap, primary care practices use technology to help keep patients engaged. Software that automatically notifies the patient when a referral is sent can increase the likelihood that a patient will make an appointment with a specialist. Confirmation that the specialist is the patient’s insurance network, appointment reminders and online patient forms also improve patient engagement. More importantly, access to the specialist treatment plan is critical to keeping patients educated on how to care for themselves in a way that will prevent symptom escalation and manage chronic conditions.

AristaMD supports these efforts in three ways:

• Offering physician-to-physician eConsults that frequently include instructions for the patient.
• Improving access to the specialist’s treatment plan gives the PCP the opportunity to review actions the patient can take to care for themselves.
• Notifying patients about their referral status.

PCPs best deploy patient engagement solutions because they have an existing relationship with the patient. eConsults are a valuable tool for patient engagement and understanding of their care. It enables patients to receive advice from specialists in the primary care setting, resulting in better outcomes, customized care, lower costs and less time traveling. eConsult provides an online platform for communication between primary care providers and specialists, allowing for faster consultation with expert advice. This exchange of information and expertise can help improve patient care decisions, increasing accountability and engagement.