Value-based reimbursement: Impact of curtailing physician autonomy in medical decision making

OBJECTIVE. In this article, we define value in the context of reimbursement and explore the effect of shifting reimbursement paradigms on the decision-making autonomy of a women's imaging radiologist. CONCLUSION. The current metrics used for value-based reimbursement such as report turnaround time are surrogate measures that do not measure value directly. The true measure of a physician's value in medicine is accomplishment of better health outcomes, which, in breast imaging, are best achieved with a physician-patient relationship. Complying with evidence-based medicine, which includes data-driven best clinical practices, a physician's clinical expertise, and the patient's values, will improve our science and preserve the art of medicine.