Value-Based Care Education in Family Medicine Residency Programs: A CERA Study of Program Directors

Primary care is shifting to value-based care (VBC) payment models, which measure and prioritize quality outcomes and cost efficiency. These models include functions such as interdisciplinary teamwork, proactive panel management, and measurement of total cost of care, with the specific aim of improving quality and reducing health care costs. Graduating residents will require training in the key principles of VBC to succeed in many primary care settings. This research study explored current training practices in VBC within family medicine residency programs.

A Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance study of family medicine program directors assessed the current state of VBC education. The survey questions assessed whether programs had a formal VBC curriculum, what elements of VBC are taught and how, and the present barriers and facilitators to VBC education.

The overall response rate for the survey was 45.39% (320/705). Most respondents (92.2%) agreed that teaching VBC within their residency curriculum was important, but only 26.9% of programs have established a formal VBC curriculum. The most frequently taught element is the "evaluation and management of quality outcomes" (80.9%), and VBC is mostly taught through didactics (79.7%). The most frequently reported barrier to teaching VBC was the lack of time within the curriculum and/or competing priorities (37.5%).

Residency programs in primary care specialties would benefit from a formal VBC curriculum appropriate for graduate medical education. This curriculum should include assessment tools for residents that include objective measures for VBC skills and training.