PARAMUS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clinicians say they are uncomfortable and ill-prepared to deal with Medicare’s new “value-based” payment system, according to a survey conducted by Haymarket Medical Education (HME)/myCME, a leading global continuing medical education (CME) provider and online resource for clinicians. The survey results were announced today on the eve of the annual conference of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, where CME’s role in the value payment movement will be a hot topic. Results point to a persistent lack of awareness and preparedness for the changes, despite 2 years of vigorous educational campaigns by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and various professional medical organizations.
The online survey, sent to a nationwide sample of primary care and specialty physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, explored clinicians’ knowledge of and readiness for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), which established the Quality Payment Program (QPP). QPP drastically changes the way physicians are reimbursed for services provided under Medicare Part B.
The survey offered respondents a chance to express their views of QPP. The vast majority were critical of the effort, some pointedly so. One physician’s comment represented the prevailing view: “It is misguided and defeats the idea of quality medicine by reducing it to a series of arbitrary check marks and standards that does little to improve health.”
Among the key findings:
- Clinicians are not comfortable with the new QPP measures, nor do they view them as important. Nearly three-fourths (71%) of survey respondents noted that they were “not very comfortable” or “not comfortable at all” with the new measures, and 62% said that the new measures were either “not very important” or “not important at all” to them in their practice.
- More troubling is that those intending to implement QPP are even less comfortable. Of those who identified themselves as primarily responsible in their practice for knowing how to participate in QPP, 72% are uncomfortable with the program and 76% say their staff doesn’t understand QPP.
- Not only are they not comfortable, they are not prepared. Sixty percent of all survey respondents indicated they are “not very prepared” or “not prepared at all” for implementing the QPP measures and value-based payment models, yet 40% of those surveyed indicated that they are the primary party responsible for understanding the details related to participation in QPP.
- Yet, they expect the transition to value-based care to have a large impact. Two-thirds of survey respondents expect value-based care and the uptake of QPP measures to have “a very large impact” or “somewhat of an impact” on their practice, and 80% expect similar impact on the healthcare system as a whole.
- CME is a promising resource to help close the knowledge gap. Two-thirds of respondents were either "very interested" or "somewhat interested" in CME activities that focus, in whole or in part, on the new QPP measures.
“The survey results clearly argue that more education is necessary for a successful transition to value-based care,” said HME/myCME General Manager Matthew Holland. “We remain hopeful that HME/myCME and other educators can provide resources to help fulfill what is an obvious gap in preparedness and understanding of QPP.”
About Haymarket Medical Education (HME) and myCME
HME, an Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education accredited provider, has more than 20 years of experience in producing top-quality, independent continuing education programs for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. It is a four-time recipient of the prestigious Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions awards in multiple categories. To learn more, visit www.haymarketmedicaleducation.com.
myCME, the global medical education website of HME, provides impactful, practice-changing CME and CE to a variety of clinicians across multiple specialties. To learn more, visit www.myCME.com.