Richard Isaacs, MD, writes that pandemic underscored benefits of value-based care

Among the most significant lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic were the benefits and adaptability of value-based care models, Richard S. Isaacs, MD, FACS, CEO and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group, wrote recently on The Health Care Blog.

In his health policy commentary, Dr. Isaacs noted that as patient visits to brick-and-mortar facilities plummeted due to shelter-in-place orders, many fee-for-service health care providers — who are paid per patient visit, treatment, or test performed, regardless of a patient’s health outcome — were dealt a severe financial blow.

By contrast, prepaid, value-based health systems demonstrated that they are better equipped to respond to an evolving health care landscape, Dr. Isaacs wrote. Because they are integrated, focused on seamless care coordination, and accountable for both quality and cost, these systems can leverage technology to rapidly adapt to major disruptions and other market dynamics.

“Priorities are in the right place: the patient’s best interests,” Dr. Isaacs wrote. “Value is generated by delivering the right level of care, in the right setting, at the right time.”

Note: To read the entire opinion piece, visit The Health Care Blog.