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Hi Timeless Autonomy Community,

Today I am fortunate to share a guest post collaboration with Dr. Ruth Vo of Career Cliniq. Career Cliniq offers the StreamAhead Assessment for healthcare professionals interested in non-clinical and non-traditional careers.

Reimagining Your Health Career with Value-Based Care 

By Ruth Vo, Career Cliniq and Dana Strauss

Are you frustrated with the current state of your healthcare practice? You're not alone.

Despite years of rigorous education and high-level qualifications, many healthcare professionals are leaving clinical practice at alarming rates.

The reasons are clear: lack of prestige, limited opportunities to work at the top of their license, unsatisfactory compensation, and a general sense that their profession hasn't lived up to the promises made during training.

But what if there was a way to change this narrative? What if the shift towards value-based care (VBC) could offer a solution, providing new opportunities for healthcare professionals to reclaim their passion while addressing the retention challenges faced by healthcare providers?

Today, I invite you to explore how the shift towards value-based care (VBC) might open new doors for your career.

A New Perspective on Primary Care

Imagine being part of a primary care team, working alongside physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals. Picture yourself as the go-to expert in your field, contributing your unique skills to comprehensive patient care. In this scenario, you're not just treating patients after they've been referred - you're part of the first line of care, helping to guide treatment plans from the start.

This isn't about diminishing our independence. Rather, it's about expanding our influence. By integrating into primary care teams, we have the chance to showcase our expertise to a broader audience and play a pivotal role in patient outcomes.

Navigating the Challenges

As we consider this new path, it's important to acknowledge the hurdles we might face. These challenges aren't just obstacles; they're opportunities for growth and expansion in our professions.

Integration and Perception:

Many healthcare systems still view various health professions as separate from primary care. This separation isn't just about physical location but about how we're perceived in the healthcare ecosystem. As healthcare professionals, we often think that setting up independent practices will change public perception, but this approach might be missing the bigger picture. The real opportunity lies in becoming an integral part of primary care teams, where we can directly influence patient care from the outset.

Payment Models and Policy Barriers:

The current fee-for-service system, largely driven by Medicare policies, doesn't align well with value-based care principles. These policies, rooted in historical physician-centric models, often limit our ability to practice to the full extent of our training. Learning to navigate new payment models and advocating for policy changes will be crucial for our professions' growth.

Education and Skill Gaps:

Many healthcare professionals now graduate with advanced degrees but find themselves in a healthcare system that doesn't fully utilize their skills or training. New graduates often experience a jarring disconnect between their education and the realities of practice. Bridging this gap will require ongoing learning and adaptation.

Charting a New Course

If you're intrigued by this vision, here are some steps to consider:

• Explore VBC-oriented practices in your area. What might you learn from them?

• Reflect on how your skills could contribute to a primary care team. How could your expertise enhance overall patient care?

• Develop new skills in data analysis and care coordination to complement your clinical expertise.

• Reach out to primary care providers in your network to discuss collaboration opportunities.

• Familiarize yourself with VBC models and payment structures to identify new opportunities.

• Demonstrate the value of your profession in preventing costly interventions, aligning with VBC goals.

• Explore telehealth opportunities to expand your reach and align with cost-effective care delivery.

Implications for Different Stakeholders

For Healthcare Clinicians:

As clinicians, whether employed or running your own practice, consider how you can integrate more closely with primary care. Could you offer your expertise to local primary care practices, perhaps through regular consultations or shared care plans? Focus on developing skills to demonstrate your value within new models, such as tracking and presenting outcomes data that show how your interventions reduce overall healthcare costs. Seek out additional training in areas like population health management or care coordination to enhance your role in team-based care.

For Educators:

The challenge for educators is to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals for a VBC landscape in primary care. Consider revising curricula to include more emphasis on value-based care concepts, data analysis, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Incorporate health policy and payment model education to help students understand the broader context of healthcare delivery. Develop programs that simulate team-based primary care environments, allowing students to practice working alongside other healthcare professionals before entering the field.

For Primary Care Practices:

For physician-led primary care practices looking to embrace VBC and allied health, consider the value that various healthcare professionals can bring to your practice and team. They can offer expertise that complements physician and advance practice provider medical care, potentially reducing unnecessary outside referrals and improving patient outcomes.

Look for ways to integrate different healthcare professionals into your care teams, perhaps starting with regular consultations and building towards full integration. Consider how diverse healthcare services can help meet VBC metrics, such as reducing hospital readmissions, improving chronic disease management reducing fall risk, and much more. Explore new payment models that incentivize this type of integrated, value-based care.

Looking Ahead: Your Role in Changing Healthcare

Let's be honest - the shift to value-based care is going to shake things up for all of us in healthcare. It's not just a passing trend, but a real change in how we work and how care is delivered.

Take a minute to think about your work. What parts of it do you really enjoy? Where do you think you could be doing more, if given the chance? Now, how might those things fit into this new value-based model?

From one healthcare professional to another, I'd suggest seeing this change as a chance to grow, rather than a threat to how you currently practice. It might mean learning some new skills or working with people you haven't before, but it could also mean finding new ways to use your expertise.

Here are a few things to consider:

1. How could your specific knowledge help improve patient care in a primary care setting?

2. What new things might you need to learn to do well in this value-based system?

3. Who do you know that's already working in this kind of setup? Could you chat with them about it?

Change isn't always comfortable, but it's often where we grow the most. By engaging with these changes now, you're not just reacting - you're helping to shape what healthcare will look like.

Your experience and skills matter in this new VBC landscape. By adapting and finding your place in it, you might just find new satisfaction in your work, while also contributing to better patient care overall.

How do you see yourself fitting into VBC?