How primary care can succeed beyond traditional health care settings

During a panel at the recent HLTH 2024 event in Las Vegas, Nolan Chang, MD, executive vice president of Strategy, Corporate Development and Finance for The Permanente Federation, said value-based care can help primary care succeed outside of traditional care venues, such as in retail outlets, according to a recent article by MedCityNews.

Dr. Chang added that Kaiser Permanente is an integrated health system committed to longitudinal, value-based care, and that commitment colors his definition of primary care. “Our patients stay with us, on average, for over a decade,” he said. “It’s about how we develop relationships with patients to be able to drive outcomes. I definitely think [primary care] needs to evolve — and it absolutely can exist in different engagements. It’s part of our responsibility to find out what [those are].”

Related story: Permanente physician leaders on the future of health care delivery 

Value-based care focuses on enhancing patient outcomes and overall health by linking financial rewards to quality of care, rather than the volume of services delivered. Medical groups funded by prepaid, value-based arrangements are also better positioned to develop and invest in innovative programs and technologies to respond to patient needs and market dynamics.

For example, Kaiser Permanente decades ago invested in electronic medical records, which provide more accurate, up-to-date information about patients and enable more coordinated, efficient care.

Expanding access: The role of retail clinics

In Southern California, Kaiser Permanente provides care at 35 Target Clinics. These clinics are connected to an electronic medical record system that gives clinicians a comprehensive view of patient medical histories and medications.

“For us, the retail opportunity is: How do we break down barriers and meet our patients where [they are]?” Dr. Chang said. “If they’re already going to be out shopping near a Target clinic, what can we do to help them while they’re there?”

Related value-based care story: Integrated, value-based care key to ensuring quality in retail clinics

Most retailers that have attempted to disrupt the primary care market in recent years have established transactional, fee-for-service models. Such fee-for-service health care systems charge per office visit, treatment, or test. This approach incentivizes physicians and hospitals to perform a higher volume of services instead of focusing on the quality of care delivered or patient outcomes.

Since these transactional health care organizations are paid based on individual services, there is little incentive for them to collaborate with other health care professionals to create a comprehensive care plan, leading to fragmented care. According to Dr. Chang, these transactional models are difficult to integrate into the greater health care system. He added that transactional primary care will continue to struggle moving forward.

In the future, Dr. Chang said he hopes that health care organizations such as Kaiser Permanente can continue to integrate with retailers to make care experiences more connected and meaningful.

To read the full article, visit MedCityNews. You can also watch Dr. Chang’s panel at the HLTH site (starts at approximately 1:35:30).