Provider Engagement as a Leading Indicator for Value Based Care Success

Long before I review a dashboard to determine whether a provider engagement program is working, I can often predict the success of a new program by what happens in the room before I finish the first session.

Two separate things happened to me three weeks ago.

The first group said: “We are having our next provider meeting in October. Can you attend?”

The second group asked: “Can you come bi-weekly?”

 Busy providers are asking for more sessions. A WIN.

I track provider engagement before I review a dashboard. The atmosphere in the room tells a story.

Here are my recommendations for successful provider engagement programs especially in value-based care:

1.      Assess prior performance and experience.

2.      Align with the provider’s workflow.

3.      Customize the solution for the provider group.

4.      Introduce technology only when it solves a real problem

5.      Use experts who can translate between both worlds.

6.      Keep new processes lean.

One thing I have learned from leading provider engagement is that less is more.

Prioritize the right information over more information.

I do not recognize successful provider engagement from metrics alone

I see it from day one. Receptiveness to a program is the leading indicator for measuring success.

Let us break down what you must do at every stage

1. Assess prior performance and experience.
Understand what has already been tried, what worked, what failed, and how providers experienced it. You may be walking into resistance that was created long before you arrived. Ignoring previous experience sets you up for failure.

2. Align with the provider workflow.
If your solution makes an already busy clinical day harder, adoption will always be an uphill battle.

3. Customize the solution for the provider group.
Different specialties, practices, markets, and provider groups have different needs. Your engagement strategy should reflect that.

4. Introduce technology only when it solves a real problem.
Another platform is not automatically another solution. Sometimes better workflow, better information, or better communication is what is actually needed.

5. Use experts who can translate between both worlds.
Someone has to understand the clinical reality of the provider while also understanding the operational, financial, quality, and risk requirements of value-based care. That translation matters.

6. Keep new processes lean.
Every additional click, report, meeting, alert, and task competes for provider attention. If three steps will accomplish the goal, do not build seven.

One thing I have learned from working with providers is that less is often more.

The right information matters more than more information.

The right narrative matters more than another presentation.

And understanding what matters to each provider group can make the difference between compliance and genuine adoption.

Provider engagement is not something I wait until the end of a VBC initiative to measure.

I treat it as a leading indicator of whether the program will succeed at all.

It is important to get it right early