CMS Primary Cares: 5 Steps to Assess Your Readiness

Despite the benefits of primary care, there are some important steps healthcare incumbents should take in deciding whether and how to participate.

Organizations that are eligible to participate in the new CMS Primary Cares Initiative models have a big determination to make: whether now is the right time.

For organizations like Austin Regional Clinic, the decision would be easy, says Norman H. Chenven, MD, founding CEO for the Texas-based organization and vice chairman of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices. The multispecialty group of 320 physicians, most of them primary care physicians, has already been investing heavily in its value-based readiness for the past decade, with primary care at the center, he says.

“When patients do not have real...