High-Value Care Culture Among the Future Physician Workforce in Internal Medicine

Training in high-spending regions correlates with higher spending patterns among practicing physicians. This study aimed to evaluate whether trainees' exposure to a high-value care culture differed based on type of health system in which they trained.

In 2016, 517 internal medicine residents at 12 California graduate medical education programs (university, community, and safety-net medical centers) completed a cross-sectional survey assessing perceptions of high-value care culture within their respective training program. The authors used multilevel linear regression to assess the relationship between type of medical center and High-Value Care Culture Survey (HVCCS) scores. The correlation between mean institutional HVCCS and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) scores was calculated using Spearman rank coefficients.

Of 517 residents, 306 (59.2%), 83 (16.1%), and 128 (24.8%) trained in university, community, and safety-net programs, respectively. Across all sites, the mean HVCCS score was 51.2 (standard deviation [SD] 11.8) on a 0-100 scale. Residents reported lower mean HVCCS scores if they were from safety-net-based training programs (β = -4.4; 95% confidence interval: -8.2, -0.6) with lower performance in the leadership and health system messaging domain (P < .001). Mean institutional HVCCS scores among university and community sites positively correlated with institutional VBP scores (Spearman r = 0.71; P < .05).

Safety-net trainees reported less exposure to aspects of high-value care culture within their training environments. Tactics to improve the training environment to foster high-value care culture include training, increasing access to data, and improving open communication about value.