General Pediatricians and Value-Based Payments.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In an effort to transform the health care system, payers and physicians are experimenting with new payment models, mostly in an effort to move from a volume-based system to one based on value. We conducted a national survey to evaluate pediatricians' experience with and views about new value-based models of payment. METHODS: An American Academy of Pediatrics 2016 member survey was used to assess provider and practice characteristics, provider experience with value-based payments (VBPs) (through accountable care organizations [ACOs] or pay for quality performance), and provider views about new payment models. We used descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models to examine relationships between experience and views. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 48.7% (n = 786 of 1614). Of practicing general pediatricians, 52% reported experience with VBP, 32% believed payment for quality metrics have a "positive impact" on pediatricians' ability to provide quality care for patients, and 12% believed ACOs have a positive impact. Adjusting for covariates, respondents experienced with payments for quality metrics (adjusted odds ratio: 2.01; 95% confidence interval 1.26-3.19) and ACOs (odds ratio: 6.68; 95% confidence interval 3.55-13.20) were more likely to report a positive impact. CONCLUSIONS: Although experience and views vary, just more than half of surveyed pediatricians report receiving some form of VBP. Pediatricians reporting this experience are more likely to feel that these payment models have a positive impact on patient care when compared with pediatricians without this experience.

The Care of Children With Congenital Heart Disease in Their Primary Medical Home.

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth anomaly. With advances in repair and palliation of these complex lesions, more and more patients are surviving and are discharged from the hospital to return to their families. Patients with CHD have complex health care needs that often must be provided for or coordinated for by the primary care provider (PCP) and medical home. This policy statement aims to provide the PCP with general guidelines for the care of the child with congenital heart defects and outlines anticipated problems, serving as a repository of current knowledge in a practical, readily accessible format. A timeline approach is used, emphasizing the role of the PCP and medical home in the management of patients with CHD in their various life stages.

Guiding Principles for Team-Based Pediatric Care.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recognizes that children's unique and ever-changing needs depend on a variety of support systems. Key components of effective support systems address the needs of the child and family in the context of their home and community and are dynamic so that they reflect, monitor, and respond to changes as the needs of the child and family change. The AAP believes that team-based care involving medical providers and community partners (eg, teachers and state agencies) is a crucial and necessary component of providing high-quality care to children and their families. Team-based care builds on the foundation of the medical home by reaching out to a potentially broad array of participants in the life of a child and incorporating them into the care provided. Importantly, the AAP believes that a high-functioning team includes children and their families as essential partners. The overall goal of team-based care is to enhance communication and cooperation among the varied medical, social, and educational partners in a child's life to better meet the global needs of children and their families, helping them to achieve their best potential. In support of the team-based approach, the AAP urges stakeholders to invest in infrastructure, education, and privacy-secured technology to meet the needs of children. This statement includes limited specific examples of potential team members, including health care providers and community partners, that are meant to be illustrative and in no way represent a complete or comprehensive listing of all team members who may be of importance for a specific child and family.

Nonemergency Acute Care: When It's Not the Medical Home.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) affirms that the optimal location for children to receive care for acute, nonemergency health concerns is the medical home. The medical home is characterized by the AAP as a care model that "must be accessible, family centered, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective." However, some children and families use acute care services outside the medical home because there is a perceived or real benefit related to accessibility, convenience, or cost of care. Examples of such acute care entities include urgent care facilities, retail-based clinics, and commercial telemedicine services. Children deserve high-quality, appropriate, and safe acute care services wherever they access the health care system, with timely and complete communication with the medical home, to ensure coordinated and continuous care. Treatment of children under established, new, and evolving practice arrangements in acute care entities should adhere to the core principles of continuity of care and communication, best practices within a defined scope of services, pediatric-trained staff, safe transitions of care, and continuous improvement. In support of the medical home, the AAP urges stakeholders, including payers, to avoid any incentives (eg, reduced copays) that encourage visits to external entities for acute issues as a preference over the medical home.