Value-based purchasing, which recently went into effect, is good news for still optimistic physicians, according to Carla Rotering, a pulmonologist at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Phoenix and the director of physician services for the Leebov Golde Group. In a Hospital Impact blog post this week, Rotering recounted her experience as a young, "naïve" physician who, upon entering medicine, faced a stern practice manager who relied on volume-based "fee-for-service" financials and instructed Rotering to see more patients and trim appointment times.
"Yet now--for the first time in our history--in the value-based purchasing model, the quality of the relationship we create with patients has been elevated," Rotering said. Value-based purchasing will once again focus on the relationships with patients, with calls to strengthen the patient experience. What constitutes "quality care" these days is what we used to call "bedside manner," she explained. --Read the full blog post on Hospital Impact