Contact capitation: boon or bane?

Abstract

Capitation has shown itself to be a challenging form of payment to work with from a number of standpoints. Not only does it require the alignment of relationships between and among primary care physicians and specialists via explicit contracting and financial terms, but it requires organization of all types of physicians across entire health-care markets, and sophisticated data analysis for success. Now, a still-new form of capitation called "contact capitation" is evolving. It seems to hold promise in terms of resolving some short-term administrative problems. But can it offer improvement in alignment of incentives long-term? This article looks at the growth of contact capitation as a payment distribution strategy, and its opportunities, pitfalls, and issues in terms of physician organization and integrated delivery objectives.