What does healthcare really cost to deliver? And does the cost really make a difference in patients’ health and experience? The University of Utah tackled this problem with the creation of Value Driven Outcomes (VDO), a program to enable local clinical decision makers to lead improvements in care delivery relative to cost, quality, and service.
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.
Translating strategic priorities into everyday execution across a large, complex enterprise might seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Our Operational Plan is a blueprint that combines processes, tools, knowledge, and skills to deliver on these priorities.
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.
It’s clear that fee-for-service health care isn't working—so what alternative payment model does?
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.
Health care organizations and providers have some understanding what they charge for care. But nationally, providers have a “complete lack of understanding” about the costs of health care, according to Michael Porter, Ph.D., and Robert Kaplan, Ph.D., ("The Big Idea: How to Solve the Cost Crisis in Health Care").
Utah “holds a unique distinction” when it comes to health care, according to a special report by the New England Journal of Medicine.
