Healthcare providers' shift of focus from acute to ambulatory care is a learning process. Today, we are still learning about the best ways to respond to the new legislative, commercial, and consumer demands.
This article appears in the December 2015 issue of HealthLeaders magazine.
The number of factors driving ambulatory and outpatient care expansion seems to grow larger every day. Ironically, activities supporting both fee-for-service and value-based care models, normally moving in somewhat different directions, appear to coexist in a beneficial way in ambulatory and outpatient care.
According to the 2015 HealthLeaders Media Ambulatory and Outpatient Care Survey, two of the top three factors driving ambulatory and outpatient care strategy—expanding market share (50%) and increasing revenue (48%)—are mainstays of a fee-for-service model. On the other hand, more respondents cite improving quality and outcomes (52%) as a top driver, and tied for fourth position are population health management (43%) and responding to consumer-driven trends (43%), factors reflective of a value-based care model.
The reasons behind ambulatory and outpatient care expansion may originate from different strategic points of view, but the tactics and objectives have much in common.