The healthcare delivery landscape is changing at a rapid pace globally. Stakeholder expectations, changing reimbursement models, technology advancements, and clinical best practices are all evolving as a result on a confluence of health drivers. These changes are all leading to an increased demand for health care services.
In response to these changes, leading healthcare delivery organizations (HDOs) are transforming operations to emphasize value-based outcomes through the entire healthcare delivery process. In short, they are incorporating Value Management methodologies within their organization(s). Value Management is the discipline of continuously measuring and analyzing the value delivered by an organization in all perspectives (clinical, process improvement, patient satisfaction, etc.) and then adapting activities to promote maintaining and increasing that value. Value is measured by the health outcomes achieved at a given cost (whereby “cost” is measured beyond just financial terms). Value Management leverages Lean tools, methodologies, and business analytics to identify and monitor Critical Success Factors (CSFs), Key Result Indicators (KRIs), and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Value Management has already proven to be successful within HDOs and these familiar names will stand out to you as catalysts within their industry upon implementation: Mayo Clinic, Boston Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, and Schön Klinik (to name a few).
Ultimately, we are all looking to improve the health outcomes of patients served by caring and capable clinicians every year. This change will happen due to the shift from the Old-world ‘volume-based’ healthcare approach, to the New-world, ‘value-based’ approach. The new, and Value-oriented world, will consist of:
- Collaboration
- Transparency
- Optimization of outcomes
- Accountable care
- Focus on populations
Collectively as a health care community we are moving forward to embrace the value equation as the measurement of success in treating patient conditions. It is through this embrace that we will ultimately transform our broken health care system and drive innovative ways to improving outcomes.
To learn more please check out my book, Value Management in Healthcare: How to Establish a Value Management Office to Support Value-based Outcomes in Healthcare