|
Maryland physicians are practicing in a health care environment that is changing quickly. The shift from volume-based payment to value-based care is placing greater emphasis on prevention, coordination, quality, and patient outcomes. Maryland’s AHEAD Model—Achieving Healthcare Efficiency through Accountable Design—builds on the state’s long-standing leadership in all-payer innovation and offers a new opportunity to strengthen care delivery across communities.
Through AHEAD, Maryland is working to align Medicare and Medicaid transformation efforts, strengthen primary care, and reward high-quality, efficient care. Programs such as MDPCP-AHEAD, Primary Care AHEAD, and the Medicaid Advanced Primary Care Program are designed to help practices invest in the tools and team-based support needed for population health, chronic disease management, and better care coordination.
The ACCESS program complements these efforts by offering practical support as practices navigate value-based care. ACCESS can help physicians and care teams identify patients who need outreach, close gaps in care, improve follow-up after hospital visits, and connect patients with resources beyond the exam room. For busy practices, that support can make value-based care more manageable and more effective.
Value-based care recognizes the work physicians already do to keep patients healthier—managing chronic conditions, coordinating with specialists, addressing behavioral health and social needs, reducing avoidable emergency department use, and making sure patients receive the right care at the right time. When implemented well, these models can provide practices with more actionable data, clearer incentives, and additional resources to support proactive, team-based care.
By aligning payment with quality, prevention, and coordination, Maryland has an opportunity to make care more sustainable while keeping the physician-patient relationship at the center of medicine.
I encourage MedChi Members to join the upcoming webinar, “Getting AHEAD, Gaining ACCESS, and Improving Your Physician Practice Financial Health”, to learn more about Maryland’s AHEAD Model, the ACCESS program, and practical steps for succeeding in value-based care. This session, held Friday, September 25 from 12:00 until 1 p.m., will offer an opportunity to better understand available resources, ask questions, and identify strategies that can support your practice and your patients. Click here to register.
Gene M. Ransom III
CEO
MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society
| 
