The goal of healthcare reform goes beyond increasing the number of people with health insurance and decreasing how much it costs. Many who debate the subject also target improving quality of care and transforming the process to streamline access and expand healthcare. The Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP), a coalition of multi-specialty medical groups and health systems, advocates this approach. However, their recent survey, in cooperation with Nielsen Strategic Health Perspectives, shows there is still much work to be done.

The CAPP/Nielsen study measured progress in achieving the expansion of coordinated and accountable care. The study looked at coordination of care-providing teams; preventive practices to reduce the need for medical care; 24/7 access to medical care; increased use of information technology; and evidence-based medicine to ensure patients receive the advice and care they need based on research.

The 2016 survey asked more than 30,000 consumers and more than 600 physicians about the nature of their experiences with these methods to gauge progress in expanding accountable care. The results indicated that while progress is being made, integrating doctors and patients into this next phase of accountable care is very much in evolution.

Survey responses show that only one-third of patients said they had access to 24/7 care through their physician’s office other than the emergency room, and only half are experiencing physicians who better know their history, primarily due to the ability to share information through electronic medical records. Those patients with chronic or multiple illnesses, and have the most to gain from coordinated care, had only slight increases in care management like follow-up visits.

Equally significant, however, is the gap between physicians and patients in these areas. Eighty-nine percent of primary care physicians said they give frequent reminders about preventative screenings, but only fourteen percent of patients reported receiving such information.

Sixty-five percent of doctors claimed to use evidence-based methods for determining proper treatments while only 39 percent of patients said they discussed new treatment options. And though electronic engagement between patients and physicians is increasing, it’s still slow: 20 to 30 percent of patients surveyed said they utilized aspects of digital medicine such as online medical question submission or email/text reminders. Forty-four percent reported having online access to lab results or scheduling, with a significant age gap, as older patients were less likely to use these tools in their healthcare management.

The results of the CAPP/Nielsen survey indicate significant gaps in achieving accountable care today, highlighting the differences between what physicians and patients say they are experiencing in the doctor’s office. With healthcare continuing to trend as a top focus for healthcare leaders, policy makers, and elected officials, the CAPP/Nielsen survey provides an important snapshot of where we are in healthcare delivery as a nation and where we need to focus our efforts to continue to provide integrated, quality healthcare.

This is the second annual CAPP/Nielsen survey that was coordinated to assess the reality of healthcare today. Scott Public Relations has now worked on both of CAPP’s healthcare events, performing aggressive media outreach to encourage attendance/coverage, crafting content, and promoting the live-streaming options in order to raise the visibility of CAPP as well as the event itself.

Watch the Better Together Health 2016 highlights video here.

About the Council of Accountable Physician Practices:

The Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP), an affiliate of the AMGA Foundation, is a coalition of visionary medical group and health system leaders. We believe that physicians working together, backed by integrated services, systems and data and technology, can best shape and guide the way care is delivered so that the welfare of the patient is always the primary focus. For more information, contact CAPP at Accountablecaredoctors.org.

If you’re in healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and need help with a PR, marketing or social media campaign, contact Scott Public Relations.

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