New payment models relating to bone metastases, breast cancer developed by ASTRO
FRIDAY, April 22, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Doctors can be involved in developing new payment models for their practices, according to the American Medical Association.
Noting that physicians will need to participate in the new Merit-based Incentive Payment System or alternative payment models (APMs), some physicians are getting involved with their specialty societies to work toward developing new payment models. Physicians should be aware that developing APMs is a work in progress; research needs to be done in terms of variation in care, cost, value, and quality.
Shilpen Patel, M.D., a radiation oncologist from Seattle, has been working with other physicians from the American Society for Radiation Oncology. They have developed two payment models, relating to palliative treatment for bone metastases and breast cancer treatment. The models included determining what is appropriate from the radiation aspect of treatment, with goals of quality and appropriate utilization to make sure patients get the most appropriate therapy.
“If we’re not all going to propose APMs, we all need to at least have an understanding,” Patel said in a statement, “before we get caught with insurance companies saying this is the way it’s going to be.”
Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
