The Primary Care Prescription (Part 1): Putting Patients and Physicians First

U.S. health policy is going down the wrong path with its dominant payment focus on evidence and measurement. This focus has created a system where the less quantifiable elements of care are being ignored. Health policy only pays for care that can be measured by codes — that is the foundational principle of fee-for-service (FFS) medicine. Unfortunately, some of the most critical elements of care, like conversations, building trusting relationships and patient education, are not receptive to coding.