In any business, it will typically take a lot more time, effort and other resources to attract new customers than it does to retain them. The same typically holds true in healthcare organizations. Better patient engagement fosters trust between patients and the professionals treating them and is key for maintaining continuity of care. There are also financial considerations to keep in mind, of course, that will motivate practices to do their best to engage with each patient to keep them happy and satisfied with the services they receive.

When tax dollars are fed into the healthcare system, taxpayers will naturally have a vested interest in seeing costs lowered and efficiency improved. From family doctors to specialists of all types, there is a move toward promoting quality of care over quantity of care.

Making value-based (VB) healthcare work doesn’t have to be challenging if the practice, group, or network has two things: (1) the proper automation tools, and (2) the resources on which to rely in transforming them from fee-for-service into VB. First, a little VB background. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is a law designed to encourage more medical providers, otherwise known as “Eligible Clinicians” or “ECs” in MACRA-speak, to embrace VB medicine. For 2017, CMS has designated MDs, DOs, DDSs, DMDs, NPs, PAs, CNAs, and CRNAs as ECs. If you’re one of these, and you’re not exempt, you can and should move into the VB medicine world of quality vs. quantity.

The following excerpt is from an article written by Vera Gruessner. It originally appeared on HealthPayer Intelligence. Regardless of which political party is in Congress, the healthcare industry is steadily moving forward with value-based care reimbursement.

We all have our own roles to play as we do our part to promote health in society. From the patient perspective, special attention to preventative care, nutrition, exercise, and getting vaccinations when recommended by a physician are examples of what ordinary people can do to cut down on the costs of healthcare in this country. From the perspective of medical practices, getting ready for MACRA and MIPS is an essential aspect of streamlining healthcare services and being more efficient in how we diagnose and treat each patient.

The following is an excerpt from an article originally published on Medscape. It was written by Leigh Page. Getting to Know MACRA The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is a multifaceted law that's going to change the way you practice for years to come.

Inefficiencies in the way we provide medical services to patients in the United States have led to increasing costs while not necessarily leading to equivalent improvements in the outcomes of each sick and injured person being treated. Doctors and other medical professionals with an overriding goal to help others above all else may be dismayed when they consider how much emphasis is placed on finances rather than the healing arts.

Your medical organization routinely sees a large number of patients who are covered by Medicare or Medicaid. This may be attributed mostly to your location, such as near retirement facilities, senior care organizations and other entities charged with serving the elderly and other eligible patients. Or, the nature of your practice attracts more people who rely on government-funded medical coverage. Regardless of the reasons why you are treating more people under Medicare and Medicaid, you are also concerned that you are getting the appropriate financial incentives from the government. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the government began offering Medicare and Medicaid incentives to medical professionals in exchange for them attesting to Meaningful Use.

Recent headlines demonstrate some patients will experience yet another change in healthcare coverage in 2017. Aetna plans to sharply reduce their participation in the healthcare exchanges (dropping coverage in 75% of the states they cover now), leaving them only offering policies in four states when the new year rolls around. They are joining other major carriers like United Healthcare and Humana who say operating in some states creates onerous financial burdens they aren't willing to face going forward.

As winter approaches, savvy owners and managers of medical practices are already looking ahead to 2017 with an eye toward seeing what regulations, financial incentives, and other factors will affect their bottom line.