Industry research that has been gathered and made public over the last year has painted a bleak picture on how prepared clinicians are for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) Quality Payment Program (QPP). And with the 2018—the first calendar year that eligible Medicare doctors won’t be afforded “pick your pace” flexibilities for the program—quickly approaching, the window to become familiar with the federal law is closing.
Michael Abrams, co-founder and managing partner at consulting firm Numerof & Associates, has consulted with just about everyone, from leading academic and community hospital systems, payers, and Fortune 500 pharmaceutical, device and diagnostics companies, working together to create greater value for the healthcare consumer. One of Abrams’ core priorities right now for physician groups is to help navigate them through MACRA’s muddy waters.
Abrams, who was recently interviewed by Healthcare Informatics for a podcast (link below), says that there is a broad range of readiness among clinicians as it relates to the ebbs and flows of MACRA, noting that some hospital-employed physicians in fact have become employed so they don’t have to personally deal with stringent government regulations. At the same time, Abrams says, “A substantial number of clinicians don’t even know what the [MACRA and MIPS] acronyms stand for. But sooner or later, he adds, “Physicians will need to get involved because there are decisions that need to be made here that require clinical input.”
Abrams comes on the Healthcare Informatics podcast to talk about MACRA and MIPS (the Merit-based Incentive Payment System), what he’s seeing and hearing as it relates to clinician readiness, and what advice he’s offering clients who are still feeling uneasy about the QPP. Abrams also talks about another key effect of MACRA, one that not many industry observers are bringing up—that the quality data that’s being sent into the government has the potential to be an important source of information for employers and payers, and ultimately a real driver of cost and competition.
The podcast with Abrams runs about 15 minutes in length; and remember, you can listen to all Healthcare Informatics podcasts right here.
