High-Value Care Culture among the Future Physician Workforce in Internal Medicine

Abstract

Purpose Training in high-spending regions correlates with higher spending patterns among practicing physicians. This study aimed to evaluate whether trainees' exposure to a high-value care culture differed based on type of health system in which they trained. Method In 2016, 517 internal medicine residents at 12 California graduate medical education programs (university, community, and safety-net medical centers) completed a cross-sectional survey assessing perceptions of high-value care culture within their respective training program. The authors used multilevel linear regression to assess the relationship between type of medical center and High-Value Care Culture Survey (HVCCS) scores. The correlation between mean institutional HVCCS and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) scores was calculated using Spearman rank coefficients. Results Of 517 residents, 306 (59.2%), 83 (16.1%), and 128 (24.8%) trained in university, community, and safety-net programs, respectively. Across all sites, the mean HVCCS score was 51.2 (standard deviation [SD] 11.8) on a 0-100 scale. Residents reported lower mean HVCCS scores if they were from safety-net-based training programs (β =-4.4; 95% confidence interval:-8.2,-0.6) with lower performance in the leadership and health system messaging domain (P