Why direct primary care may be the future, and what technology is needed to support it
A value-based care expert offers insights on direct primary care – and explains the digital infrastructure required to coordinate the various organizations involved.
Homebound patients often struggle with complex medical conditions among the most costly in healthcare. Further, they typically face health equity issues related to social determinants of health, including the ability to visit a clinic, hospital or doctor's office.
Many in healthcare believe patients tend to be happiest and healthiest when they're in the home. This increasing awareness could potentially fuel a trend toward shifting direct primary care into the home.
McKinsey estimates up to $265 billion worth of care services (representing up to 25% of the total cost of care) for Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries could shift from traditional facilities to the home by 2025.
Delivering needed healthcare services and providing help with daily activities requires a team-based approach to direct primary care that includes non-traditional providers, said Lynn Carroll, chief operating officer at HSBlox, a vendor of health IT for the administration of value-based care programs.
Carroll talks about what direct primary care is; how direct primary care has the potential to produce better outcomes, an improved patient experience and lower costs; and how coordinating care, services and reimbursements through a digital infrastructure can potentially improve health equity for vulnerable populations.
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Q. For those unfamiliar, what exactly is direct primary care and what does it entail?
A.?Direct primary care is an alternative care and payment model that eliminates fee-for-service payments and third-party billing. Instead, patients pay their primary care providers a flat annual or monthly fee for routine services, such as quarterly exams and routine lab testing, as well as enhanced services such as telehealth and home-based visits.
DPC is becoming increasingly popular among patients and self-insured employers concerned about rising healthcare costs and among providers eager to reduce administrative burdens, according to the "Trends in Direct Primary Care Report" from Hint Health.
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