As physician reimbursement shifts to value-based payments, doctors will have to deal with being financially penalized for poor outcomes — penalties that may seem unfair when patients do not adhere to treatment regimes.
“Most doctors don’t mind being judged on their quality of care,” Kevin Campbell, M.D., a cardiologist at the University of North Carolina, told Medscape. “But if the physician has done everything right for the patient and the patient is non-adherent, should that reflect poorly on the clinician?”
Yes, say some experts.
Assuring patients’ adherence is as much a part of being a good doctor as drawing up a successful treatment plan, Stephen Wilkins, MPH, a former hospital executive who runs Mind The Gap Academy, in San Jose, Calif., told Medscape. Mind The Gap Academy seeks to improve medical outcomes through better physician/patient engagement.
Medscape offers advice from a patient advocate, a hospital leader, an academic physician and a private-practice physician on improving outcomes through boosting adherence. Here they are, stripped down to headlines.
Provide patients with reminders.
Simplify dosing.
Get patients involved in decision-making.
Help patients accept high medication costs.
To read the Medscape article, please hit this link.
