Value-based healthcare is a care delivery model where providers are paid based on patient health outcomes. It is designed to improve the quality of care patients receive by incentivizing providers to do focus on delivering high-quality care rather than serving the highest possible quantity of patients.

This is achieved by making a few changes to the way healthcare services are dispensed to patients, making healthcare more proactive rather than reactive, and trying to prevent any health issues from arising in the first place. Quality of care is not the only key component of value-based care; other important aspects are preventative screenings and patient wellness. All of these are key to improving patient health outcomes.

What’s different for patients
The main objective of value-based care is to create a standardized set of high-quality healthcare processes, by following the latest best practices. Evidence can then be collected to determine which processes are the best, to eliminate those that are performing subpar. This allows providers to reach the best patient health results and outcomes.

General wellness and prevention are also a big part of value-based care. Prevention can be easy to achieve, by encouraging patients to quit smoking, make certain dietary changes or engage in more exercise. This reduces the need for expensive procedures, medications, or tests later down the line, saving money and improving the quality of life for patients.

Maintaining generally good health is better for chronic conditions. For the patient, it means staying healthier and avoiding further complications that may arise from chronic conditions and being better at managing those chronic conditions. This allows you to continue seeing a single provider and their team who will be intimately familiar with your case. This team will consist of your primary physicians and their supporting staff. They can help maintain your diet, goals, and any mental or physical side effects suffered as a result of the chronic condition.

Reducing costs with value-based care
In value-based care, physicians and medical institutions get paid based on outcomes, rather than the number of procedures done, patients seen, or how much was charged. Payments are bundled rather than being charged individually, especially useful for patients with ailments that involve procedures like joint replacement.

Value-based care also integrates with existing electronic health records, eliminating the need for unnecessary and repetitive tests or procedures. Rather than having to run the same tests, different teams of providers can communicate with one another and improve patient care outcomes through care coordination. Patients are treated better and more efficiently, saving time and effort on the part of the providers, as they can move patients through the system and along their journey far more effectively.

The end goal of value-based care is improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions, and less frequent hospitalizations, reducing trips to the emergency room. We want healthcare to be more proactive, taking the initiative to improve public health and well-being. Fewer hospitalizations also lead to less strain being placed on the healthcare system, creating a better work-life balance for providers and mitigating the effects of burnout.