Building Sustainable Practice Transformation Through Payment Reform Initiatives

Novel value-based payment approaches provide an opportunity to deploy and sustain health care delivery interventions, such as treatment planning documentation. However, limited data are available on implementation costs.

We described key factors affecting the cost of implementing care improvements under value-based payments, using treatment planning and Medicare's Oncology Care Model as examples. We estimated expected costs of implementing treatment plans for years 1 and 2-6 under (1) different staffing models, (2) use of technology, and (3) differences in the patients engaged. We compared costs to the payment amounts under the Oncology Care Model.

Team-based models where staffing is aligned with skills needed for key tasks (eg, a combination of lay navigator, nurse, and physician) are more financially feasible when compared with using physicians or nurses alone. When existing staff are at or near capacity, hiring new staff focused on practice transformation activities allows adequate time for new initiatives without negative impacts on existing services. Investments in information technology can enhance staff productivity, but initial costs may be high. Interventions may not be financially feasible if implemented for a small patient volume or only for patients insured by a particular payer. Finally, costs may be higher for disadvantaged populations, and equity in care delivery may require higher payments from payers.

Estimating the cost of implementing an intervention in different types of practice settings with various types of patients is essential to ensure that a value-based payment system will adequately support desired improvements in quality of care for all patients.