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The health care industry is constantly evolving, and value-based care (VBC) has emerged as a transformative force in the pursuit of better patient outcomes. While VBC is not new, technological advances in recent years have made it possible to identify risks and opportunities for individuals and entire patient populations. Technology also facilitates early interventions that reduce acute events and is reshaping health care delivery for the better.
The shift to value-based care
The traditional fee-for-service model that has dominated health care for decades is broken. It incentivizes all the wrong behaviors, focusing on the volume of care rather than care quality and outcomes. Shortcomings like fragmented care, rising costs, and focusing on treating illnesses rather than preventing them spurred a change in thinking toward VBC, where health care stakeholders are incentivized to deliver high quality care at the lowest cost.
The transition to VBC has brought challenges as well as some pushback. Many concerns center around risk and accountability – health care delivery organizations (HDOs) are asked to take on more financial risk to achieve specific patient outcomes, but they cannot do it effectively without accurate, up-to-date, and complete information about patients, providers, and contracts.
Now, we are at an inflection point in U.S. health care of increased costs and demands for higher quality and demonstrable outcomes where VBC is not just viable; it is truly the necessary path forward. We have advanced technology to mitigate risk, realign incentives, and facilitate better and more cost-effective care.