WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - March 18, 2015) - The American Medical Association and RAND Corporation will present findings from a new collaborative study investigating physician experiences with the adoption of reformed approaches to health care delivery and payment.

The new AMA-RAND study comes at a time when the Department of Health and Human Services, private health insurers and others are upping the ante for changing how physicians are paid to create stronger incentives for efficient, high-quality care. Progress toward the ambitious goals of payment reform will depend on clear path forward, but to date there has been very little focus on the real-world impact of alternative payment models on busy physician practices.

Findings from the new study are intended to fill the void in practical information on the impact of commercial alternative payment models on practices and individual physicians. The findings from this assessment will help improve the success and sustainability of current and future payment models that are proven to improve care and reduce costs.

The AMA will host a panel discussion on the study's insights featuring the perspectives of major health system stakeholders. The discussion will examine opportunities for system-wide collaboration on new payment models and address the challenges identified in the AMA-RAND study to help physicians successfully adapt to the changes.

WHEN:
9 to 10 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, March 19

WHERE:
National Press Club, Zenger Room, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C.

PRESENTERS:
Steven J. Stack, M.D., AMA president-elect
Mark W. Friedberg, M.D., lead study author and senior natural scientist at RAND Corporation

PANELISTS:
Michael Tutty, Ph.D., study co-author and group vice president of the AMA's Physician Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability Initiative
Chet Burrell, president and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield based in Maryland
Susan DeVore, president and CEO of Premier, Inc., an alliance of approximately 3,400 U.S. hospitals and 110,000 other providers
Alan Speir, M.D., medical director of cardiac surgery at Inova Health System in Northern Virginia.

EMBARGOED MATERIAL:
The new AMA-RAND study is embargoed for 9 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, March 19. For access to an embargoed copy of the study, please contact Warren Robak at robak@rand.org or (310) 451-6913.

REGISTER:
Members of the press are asked to register with the AMA prior to the event. To reserve limited seating, please send your name, contact information and media affiliation to: media@ama-assn.org.