Care guidance helps physician practices achieve health equity

Health equity metrics are increasingly required in value-based care. Words and phrases like “health disparities”, “social determinants of health (SDoH)” and “health related social needs” have cropped up all over the healthcare spectrum in the last twenty years, but now a new emphasis on actually addressing the root causes that these phrases describe is driving changes to reimbursements and quality metrics. In turn, health equity priorities are impacting the financial and operational performance of physician practices. In many cases, the federal government has led the focus on health equity metrics, such the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) adoption of alternative payment models that give added economic incentives to physician practices, ACOs and IDNs based on health equity objectives. As the financial success of physician practices is becoming more dependent on meeting new metrics in quality payment programs aimed at equitable patient care, providers are seeking ways to implement health equity programs that will successfully address the socioeconomic conditions of all their patients and optimize reimbursement in value-based care (VBC) arrangements.