New Study Reveals Stalled Progress Toward Value-Based Care

2018 QUEST DIAGNOSTICS STUDY FINDS:

• Physicians and health plan executives agreed healthcare has made little progress toward value-based care since last year – more than two-thirds (67 percent) of physicians and health plan executives said the U.S. still has a fee-for-service system.
• Fifty-seven percent of health plan executives said they now believe physicians do not have the tools to succeed under value-based care, up significantly from 45 percent in last year's study.
• Only 39 percent of physicians said electronic health records (EHRs) provide all the data they need to care for their patients.
• Eighty percent of health plan executives said they believe investments made in technology for quality initiatives have improved the value of healthcare for patients, but only 68 percent of physicians agreed.
• Survey also provides new insights into perceptions of the role of consumer-based healthcare and IT-related technologies in advancing value-based care, including artificial intelligence and blockchain.

A new study of physicians and health plan executives suggests that progress toward value-based care has stalled, and it may have even taken a step backward over the past year. The study, commissioned by Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), points to physicians' lack of tools and insufficient information about their patients as possible reasons. Other barriers include continuing misalignment of perceptions of physicians and health plan executives, particularly regarding the usefulness of quality metrics and technology in providing patient care.

"Stalled Progress on the Path to Value-Based Care" is the third annual study from Quest Diagnostics to gauge perceptions of physicians and health plan executives about the nation's journey to value-based healthcare, which focuses on care quality and patient outcomes rather than the quantity of services delivered.