Rapid biomedical progress and rising healthcare costs have led to increasing calls to link spending to value rather than volume of care in the United States. These calls have come from payers, patients, providers, and even innovators. For example, Medicare aims to link 90% of payments to some form of value-based reimbursement. Providers-based organizations such as the American Medical Association have also endorsed using value-based pricing for pharmaceuticals. Joseph Jimenez of Novartis called on the pharmaceutical industry to “…shift to a model that focuses on value and outcomes delivered.” This leads to the question, “How do you quantify value, particularly when outcomes cannot be easily measured in purely economic terms?”
Definitions of value should reflect the reason why we have a healthcare system in the first place. It is to help people live healthier, happier, fuller lives. It is imperative to fulfill that mission as efficiently and affordably as possible, so as to maximize the efficacy of every dollar spent.
This excerpt comes from my article with co-author Mark Linthicum on Advancing Value in Healthcare”. We discuss the need need to use value in pricing and the new Innovation and Value Initiative (IVI), where both Mark and I are heavily involved. Read the full article at GEN (Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News).
Value of healthcare for me is more on the results. It should be defined first around the patient. How well functioning the system are? Can the patients access the services with ease? Is it safe? Is it convenient? The advancements of healthcare value is a very interesting topic especially this may share the goal and priorities of stakeholders. I am really looking forward for more valuable health care delivery the soonest.