Azara Healthcare Issues New Report Highlighting Relationship Gaps Between Providers and Health Plans and Opportunities to Accelerate Value-Based Care Adoption

New research indicates strategic data exchange is the top priority for health plans and providers that want to collaborate more effectively

Azara Healthcare, the Best in KLAS provider of population health management and value-based care solutions, has announced a new report, “Bridging the Health Plan-Provider Gap: Data-Driven Collaboration for a Value-Based Future.” The independently conducted research uncovers insights about why the healthcare industry’s transition to value-based care (VBC) has been slower than projected, and where health plans and providers could collaborate more effectively to drive more value for themselves and their patients.

The new research quantifies the fractured relationships between these two key industry players: 57% of provider respondents reported little or no trust in health plans, compared to just 18% of health plan respondents who reported little or no trust in providers. But despite these low trust levels, they reported complete alignment on their top three priority challenges: 1) integrating health plan data with clinical data, 2) consolidating and deduping clinical data across EHRs and throughout the network, and 3) integrating care management and care coordination solutions.

Key insights from the report dig deeper into the relationship gaps between health plans and providers—including where they might lead to gaps in care—as well as the future of VBC: 

• 58% of providers see health plans as getting the most value from VBC, and themselves as getting the least value from VBC (only 19% believe providers benefit the most).
• Just one third of providers and one quarter of health plans currently believe that the data they exchange with each other helps them identify care gaps “very well.”
• Health plans and providers both ranked “insufficient health plan and provider data integration” as the number one underlying obstacle to successful VBC implementation.
• 84% of providers and 71% of health plans agreed that VBC Enablers will continue to grow in scope and become a standard part of the healthcare landscape.

Overall, the research indicates that providers and health plans have an opportunity to leverage more strategic, transparent, and effective data exchange to build trust and make progress against their shared goals. 64% of provider respondents agreed that data exchange with health plans is “very important” to VBC success, illustrating solid buy-in for investing and improving in this area.

“The transition to VBC is poised to accelerate in the next three years—and organizations will have to adapt whether they are ready or not,” said Jeff Brandes, President & CEO of Azara Healthcare. “Provider organizations and health plans that take a proactive approach to data exchange and collaboration will be in the best position to deliver better care, move the dial on health equity, and capture the value in VBC.”

The report is based on independent research that Azara commissioned from healthcare consultancy Sage Growth Partners in 2024, which engaged 70 health plan and provider leaders who were directly involved in the transition to VBC.

To learn more about how Azara can help your organization reach its value-based care and population health goals, contact solutions@azarahealthcare.com. 

Attend the webinar Thursday 6/6/24 to learn more about key report findings from our industry experts.
> Learn more and register

Media Contact:
John Gonda
Sage Growth Partners
jgonda@sagegrowth.com

About Azara Healthcare
Azara Healthcare, the 2023 and 2024 Best in KLAS population health management solution, is the leading provider of quality measurement, analytics and reporting for the Community Health and physician practice market. Azara solutions empower more than 1,000 Community Health Centers, physician practices, Primary Care Associations, Health Center Controlled Networks, and clinically integrated networks in 42 states to improve the quality and efficiency of care for more than 25 million Americans through actionable data. To learn more about Azara Healthcare, visit www.azarahealthcare.com.