Why clinical documentation is the missing link to value-based reimbursement

http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/why-clinical-documentation-is-the-missing-link-to-value-based-reimbursement.html

The key to successfully making the jump from the old era of healthcare — one where fee-for-service is king — to the new era of healthcare — one where transparency, consumerism and value dominate — may actually be as simple as improving clinical documentation, according to Anthony Oliva, DO, vice president and CMO of Nuance Healthcare.

“For those who thought, ‘Maybe we can just hold out and [value-based care] will all go away,’ it’s never going to go away; it’s only going to get worse,” Dr. Oliva said at the Becker’s 2nd annual CIO/HIT + Revenue Cycle Conference in Chicago.

Healthcare is a classic example of a model explained in Ian Morrison’s book The Second Curve, according to Dr. Oliva. This two-curve model posits that any market undergoing transformation has two curves: the old and the new. Companies must ride the first curve and learn how and when to jump to the second, Mr. Morrison explains in the book.