Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

How to achieve the Triple Aim plus physician satisfaction

Tom Doerr, MD
Policy
July 14, 2014
69 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

I am responding to the article, “Frustrations of the primary care physician should be a wakeup call.” Having practiced medicine for 25 years as a primary care physician, and accountable primary care physician for the past 10, I understand the demands on PCPs’ time and the pressure to please patients, satisfy documentation/coding requirements, manage care teams, run a practice, and earn a living. However, there are some best practices that can be incorporated to help us physicians get off the fee-for-service hamster wheel and expand our capacity while increasing our satisfaction on our journey into value-based care.

I believe providers should be incentivized to create value for our patient populations. However, we also need the structures, incentives, technology, and workflows to enable us in value-based contracts. This creates a cycle that expands capacity while providing quality care, at reduced cost, for maximum return on health care investment by having all players acting together for population health management. It is because of the economics of gain-sharing in value-based contracts, specifically Medicare Advantage, that we can afford to spend more time with patients — typically 30 minute visits for many seniors — to address potential and emerging issues. When revenue is capitated, we can afford to deliver care through email and video visits.

With the volume of current patients, and given that we are taking on new patients because of the Affordable Care Act, it’s no wonder that patients get frustrated when needs aren’t being met because of resource constraints. Also, when sick, a patient and her family are only concerned about immediate attention and care, which is natural. In these scenarios, patients and providers are frustrated with each other because they’re not working together, and the physician has lost control, autonomy and order. To deal with capacity constraints, involve the whole care team: comprised of the patient, family members, PCP, NPs, PAs, medical assistants and case managers. Provide them with the resources to communicate, such as email, telephonic care, video visits, and patient portals. Data from Kaiser Permanente indicate that as long as the patient thinks the PCP knows what the team is doing, it makes little difference whether the person contacting them is a registered nurse or medical assistant.

Another way to address our frustration is by helping to nurture meaningful, caring relationships with patients. Generally, we enter the field of medicine to provide care in order to keep healthy patients healthy and help sick patients get better. Fostering long-term relationships with patients and families produces a satisfied patient, and it makes me feel like they are my family members: The work is much more meaningful. This is fostered with the evolution of online and smartphone resources that allow PCPs and office staff to maintain virtual contact and information dissemination so that in-person appointments are meaningful, engaging and fulfilling.

By rewarding and encouraging PCPs to engage patients in their health care, the Triple Aim plus one can be achieved: better health outcomes, lower cost, and improved patient plus physician satisfaction.

Tom Doerr is director of innovation research, Lumeris.

Prev

Treating hepatitis C: Is sofosbuvir worth it?

July 14, 2014 Kevin 7
…
Next

A pediatrician reflects, with deep gratitude to her patients

July 14, 2014 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Treating hepatitis C: Is sofosbuvir worth it?
Next Post >
A pediatrician reflects, with deep gratitude to her patients

More in Policy

  • The realities of immigrant health care served hot from America’s melting pot

    Stella Cho
  • Healing the damaged nurse-physician dynamic

    Angel J. Mena, MD and Ali Morin, MSN, RN
  • Deaths of despair: an urgent call for a collective response to the crisis in U.S. life expectancy

    Mohammed Umer Waris, MD
  • Breaking down the barriers to effective bar-code medication administration

    Amy Dang Craft
  • The locums industry has a beef problem

    Aaron Morgenstein, MD
  • Canada’s health workers are sounding the alarm. We must act, now.

    Ivy Lynn Bourgeault, PhD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
    • The psychoanalytic hammer: lessons in listening and patient-centered care

      Greg Smith, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking free from a toxic relationship with medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Revolutionizing COPD management with virtual care solutions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Breaking free from a toxic relationship with medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Tom Brady’s legacy and the importance of personal integrity in end-of-life choices

      Kevin Haselhorst, MD | Physician
    • The hidden truths of hospital life: What doctors wish you knew

      Emily Stanford, DO | Physician
    • 10 commandments of ethical affiliate marketing for physicians

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Amy Bissada, DO | Finance
    • The heart of a Desi doctor: Balancing emotions and resources in oncology

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • Safe sex for seniors: Dispelling myths and embracing safe practices [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 8 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Journal Shows Its Commitment to Exploring AI in Medicine
  • Do Away With 'Lockout' Period in iPLEDGE, FDA Advisors Urge
  • Cluster Headache, Migraine Linked to Circadian System
  • Smaller Liver Transplant Candidates Wait Longer, Less Likely to Receive Organ
  • A 'Double Whammy' for Gastric Cancer Risk

Meeting Coverage

  • Oral Roflumilast Effective in the Treatment of Plaque Psoriasis
  • Phase III Trials 'Hit a Home Run' in Advanced Endometrial Cancer
  • Cannabis Use Common in Post-Surgery Patients on Opioid Tapering
  • Less Abuse With Extended-Release Oxycodone, Poison Center Data Suggest
  • Novel Strategies Show Winning Potential in Ovarian Cancer
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • What is driving physicians to the edge of despair?

      Edward T. Creagan, MD | Physician
    • The untold struggles patients face with resident doctors

      Denise Reich | Conditions
    • The psychoanalytic hammer: lessons in listening and patient-centered care

      Greg Smith, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking free from a toxic relationship with medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Revolutionizing COPD management with virtual care solutions [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • The real cause of America’s opioid crisis: Doctors are not to blame

      Richard A. Lawhern, PhD | Meds
    • The fight for reproductive health: Why medication abortion matters

      Catherine Hennessey, MD | Physician
    • The vital importance of climate change education in medical schools

      Helen Kim, MD | Policy
    • Nobody wants this job. Should physicians stick around?

      Katie Klingberg, MD | Physician
    • It’s time for C-suite to contract directly with physicians for part-time work

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Corinne Sundar Rao, MD | Physician
    • Resetting the doctor-patient relationship: Navigating the challenges of modern primary care

      Jeffrey H. Millstein, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Breaking free from a toxic relationship with medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Tom Brady’s legacy and the importance of personal integrity in end-of-life choices

      Kevin Haselhorst, MD | Physician
    • The hidden truths of hospital life: What doctors wish you knew

      Emily Stanford, DO | Physician
    • 10 commandments of ethical affiliate marketing for physicians

      Aaron Morgenstein, MD & Amy Bissada, DO | Finance
    • The heart of a Desi doctor: Balancing emotions and resources in oncology

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • Safe sex for seniors: Dispelling myths and embracing safe practices [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today iMedicalApps
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

How to achieve the Triple Aim plus physician satisfaction
8 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...