What is the strongest predictor of an effective solution? It’s not the size of the committee or the length of the brainstorming session. The best predictor of successful solutions is how well the problem is understood. Investing time in defining, investigating and analyzing the problem can lead to transformative solutions.

Follow Utah’s Nutrition Care Services as they produce and deliver over 300 lunches to inpatients all over our hospital, all at the same time. The work of this exceptional team highlights a complex lean operation that—before now—has largely gone unseen.

Improving value in healthcare means redesigning care to meet patients’ needs. We must push ourselves beyond patient satisfaction surveys to reduce uncertainty, complexity, and confusion in the delivery of care. Matthew Stein, MD, and the Breast Imaging team unflinchingly faced a source of uncertainty for patients: waiting for mammogram results.

The following case study examines a new core competency in delivering value at a system level. At the University of Utah, leaders created integrated oncology teams organized for the patient. Collapsing historical silos and empowering front-line leaders grew adaptive teams that offered better value to cancer patients.

Chief Medical Officer of Press Ganey Tom Lee reminds us that value does not happen by accident, and good intentions are not enough. The goal of improving value has to be a major focus for everyone in an organization.

For years, the Exceptional Value Annual Report documented the performance of the organization on all 45 of the key initiatives identified in the Operational Plan.