Article
New England Journal of Medicine

Adding Value by Talking More

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Derek A. Haas and Jonathan Warsh

Format:Print

Abstract

The prevailing fee-for-service payment model has led health care administrators and physician practices to impose severe constraints on the time physicians spend talking, for which they are reimbursed poorly or not at all. New value-based reimbursement models, however, such as bundled payments, accountable care organizations, and shared savings plans, provide powerful incentives for physicians to regain control over the quantity and quality of time they spend talking. We’ve identified many situations in which having physicians and other clinical personnel talk more with patients and each other can be the least expensive and most effective approach for producing better outcomes at lower total costs.

Keywords

Value Creation; Cost Management; Health Care and Treatment; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Industry

Citation

Kaplan, Robert S., Derek A. Haas, and Jonathan Warsh. "Adding Value by Talking More." New England Journal of Medicine 375, no. 20 (November 17, 2016): 1918–1920.