For decades, payers and providers have stayed in their silos. It’s led to a fractured and sometimes adversarial health care system that has clear disadvantages. It creates communication barriers, prevents collaboration, compromises efficiency and causes disjointed work processes. According to the World Economic Forum, health care silos also increase costs and are detrimental to patient outcomes.

Then came value-based care. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, value-based care is defined as programs that “reward health care providers with incentive payments for the quality of care they give to people with Medicare.” The shift to value-based payments from fee-for-service payments is essentially a shift to quality from quantity. Physicians will no longer be paid for each service or visit. Instead, they are paid based on the quality of patient outcomes.

There’s a push and pull with this care model. It requires providers to have more complete data on the health status of their patients in order to prioritize patients most at risk. Yet many physicians don’t want to have to measure or treat patients differently based on a payer’s different benchmarks. It’s a reason some physicians believe that having a career at Optum, a UnitedHealth Group (UHG) affiliate, means they’ll be working for a payer. Or that their affiliation means patient-focused care goals aren’t aligned with their own.

 

A new way of thinking that is already changing physician opinions.

As health care continues its shift towards a value-based care model, there is more shared interest among payers and physicians — not to mention patients and their caregivers — for health care that provides greater value while delivering better results. We’ve also all learned that caring for the whole patient works best when payers and providers communicate and share data. Together, Optum and UHG are leading the way.

As a health care and well-being company, the UHG mission is to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone. As the nation’s largest physician employer, Optum is critical to the whole-health care approach and incorporates all aspects of physical, mental and social health, as well as creating meaningful change for physicians.

Together, Optum and UHG are making health care better for everyone.

The partnership between Optum and UHG offers strong financial support and resources to carry out our shared mission. UHG doesn’t govern what physicians do. With Optum, physicians are empowered to lead locally and create long-term, meaningful change for physicians.

What do we mean by that? UHG and Optum have a vested interest in the mission of patient care delivery. Numerous non-traditional players are joining the health care landscape who simply don’t understand that and have no experience with patient care. Unlike Optum or UHG, these corporations also work in a world ruled by shareholders who are focused on the bottom line and immediate returns. The Optum/UHG partnership puts the focus back on physicians and patients — and offers a lifeline for like-minded physicians and practices.

Optum supports physicians to do the jobs they love.

Our scale, resources and synergies truly benefit how physicians practice medicine. A physician-led organization, Optum revolves around one goal: to take great care of patients and providers. Bringing advanced data-driven insight for patients is critical and UHG assists in that goal. Everyone at Optum works in sync to create greater value for care while delivering better results. Our deep clinical experience and professional partnerships also help make health care smarter and simpler.

We recognize that physicians have been overburdened by administrative tasks, so Optum balances quality, cost and satisfaction of patients and providers. Engagement and a common culture are the keys to success, and we all know that more care doesn’t equal better care. The best care is the right care.

As physicians leading physicians, we know the future of health care is completely dependent upon physicians. We are going to transform care in this country. We believe all physicians have the responsibility to address the rising cost and low-value care that takes place in our country. And Optum physicians can change that.
 
Physicians, clinicians and patients have all felt the disconnect in the siloed health care system, but we’re changing that.

The Optum and UHG collaboration has created a revolutionary health system with the scale and reach to truly make health care better for everyone. Optum also believes the relationship with UHG can ensure synergies and scalable solutions help solve some of health care’s biggest challenges.

Collaboration is a prerequisite for the success of any health care organization today. Payers and providers have come a long way toward bridging many gaps, but there’s more to do. We see that as an opportunity at Optum and UHG, where we are united on the journey to improve health care.

If you’re a physician who wants to be able to adapt, ramp up and thrive in a growing value-based care environment, Optum is the place for you. We’re making health care human again by giving clinicians the freedom and flexibility to be better. Better at caring for your patients. Better at caring for yourself. Better at creating a career path without limits. Better at making health care better for everyone. If you’re looking for a new opportunity to grow and create the future of health care, join Optum.

View Optum career opportunities now