In healthcare, the patient/provider connection is vital. Studies show patients trusting their doctors leads to higher levels of care satisfaction and improved outcomes. But most patients only see their care provider once a year for a maximum of 30 minutes, making it difficult to build meaningful primary care relationships. 

To offer a better level of care, many organizations opt out of the traditional fee-for-service healthcare model in lieu of outcomes-based care. Read on to learn more about how advanced primary care allows for better healthcare relationships. 

Fee-for-service vs. value-based care

First, it’s important to understand what advanced primary care is. At Marathon Health, we define it as, “a value-based solution that helps organizations control the cost of healthcare while offering scalable, tailored benefits, where providers spend quality time with patients to understand their health needs.”

With value-based care, providers are rewarded based on patient outcomes. In a fee-for-service approach, healthcare clinicians are paid by the amount of services they provide, essentially “rewarding [them] for volume and quantity of services provided, regardless of outcomes,” according to healthinsurance.org.

This leads to providers seeing up to 10 patients an hour, and often referring them out to specialists because they don’t have enough time to address the patients’ needs. 

“In an urgent care setting, I saw 48 patients a day. That’s just unhealthy and unsafe,” says Steve Toth, Physician Assistant and City of Fort Collins Marathon Health Clinic Director. “You have to have time to build your credibility with the patient to make a connection. And that connection is key to having them succeed.”

Advanced primary care benefits

Advanced primary care leads to better healthcare relationships by offering the following benefits:

Better appointment access

Research shows the average wait time for the third next available family medicine appointment is 29 days. Onsite or nearsite health centers allow employees to access same-day or next-day appointments near home or work with less than a five-minute wait time. 

The APC model also breaks down common healthcare access barriers, such as transportation or time. For example, virtual primary care allows patients to fit in an appointment during lunch or on break. And the best part? The primary care, chronic condition management, health coaching, and behavioral health services are offered at little to no cost. 

More time with providers

Incentivizing providers for outcomes versus billed services and referrals encourages the providers to spend more time with their patients. The time spent together helps build trust and get to the root cause of an issue.

“When you want to encourage a patient to make a lifestyle change or commit to taking medication, you need the time to educate them on why it’s necessary and how it will improve their life,” Toth says. “It really works. Studies have shown value-based care improves outcomes and reduces costs. Almost 60% of our high-risk patients at Marathon Health make improvements on quality measures, and we’re seeing a 31% cost decrease in patients with a high-risk or chronic condition.”

Happier providers

The APC model reduces provider burnout and turnover. As a result, patients get the chance to work with the same provider over many years, and that provider brings their best self to work. 

“It’s the best career change I’ve ever made,” Toth says about taking a role with Marathon Health. “It made me return to the why — why I got into medicine. The way Marathon Health practices medicine is wellness-driven and prevention-based. While we treat conditions that require medication, I’d rather prevent patients from needing medication in the first place. Coming here has been eye-opening.”