Don’t Feel Guilty
It’s common to leave a presentation or doctor’s lounge conversation on payment models feeling like you need to study up on the details of this or that payment model since good performance under that model will be important for your paycheck and to remain a viable “player.” And speakers sometimes intentionally or unintentionally enhance your anxiety about this. Maybe they love to show off what they know, and it’s easy for them to think only about their topic and not keep in mind all of the other stuff you need to know.
It’s terrific if someone in your practice is particularly interested in payment models and chooses to stay on top of them. Just make sure that doesn’t come at the expense of keeping up with changes in clinical practice. Most groups won’t have such a person and should rely on others, including SHM, without feeling the smallest bit of guilt.
SHM is advocating on behalf of hospitalists and working diligently to distill the impact MACRA and its various alternative payment frameworks will have on hospital medicine. With webinars, Q&As, and additional online and print resources, SHM will continue to provide digestible updates for hospitalists and their practices.
The End of Small-Group Physician Practice?
While the intent of these programs is to encourage and reward improvements in clinical practice, keeping up with and managing them is a tax that takes resources away from clinical practice. This is an especially difficult burden for small private practices and may prove to be a significant factor in nearly extinguishing them. There are relatively few small private hospitalist groups,ii but all of them should carefully consider how they will keep up with new reimbursement models.