Towards value-based healthcare models
Published: 17 Oct 2019
Visiting Associate Professor at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Senior Economist and Director at the Centre for Economic and Social Research East at the University of Southern California, Dr Joanne Yoong shared that value-based healthcare models will require strengthening metrics and evaluation, and putting in place financial incentives that ensure providers are held accountable for high-quality care, positive patient experiences and good health outcomes.
“Value-based healthcare is an approach to healthcare management that considers the entire patient journey – from diagnosis and treatment to after-care, and if possible, prevention – and asks, how can we design systems that focus on the delivery of health rather than health services?” – Assoc Prof Yoong
She shared that many health systems are not designed to prioritise the type of care that patients value the most – timely, appropriate and caring treatment that is effective yet affordable, in the hands of competent professionals who listen and respond to their needs. Additionally, in traditional “fee-for-service” models, healthcare providers charge for each procedure, regardless of what the outcome may be.
Globally, the wave of value-based healthcare is already underway. In Singapore, the Ministry of Health has identified value-based healthcare as an integral part of transforming the healthcare system, from planning to service delivery.
Assoc Prof Yoong added, “For patients to get optimal care plans that span different healthcare services, it is necessary to have timely and accurate real-world indicators of cost and outcomes across the entire patient journey from multiple sources, such as electronic medical records, health claims and patient surveys.”
Building on this strong foundation of data, Assoc Prof Yong also shared that “we can rethink the way we pay for healthcare. In general, value-based payment arrangements seek to link compensation to patient-centric outcomes rather than the quantity of services provided.”
By continuing to embrace value-based initiatives and innovations, healthcare providers can help to safeguard the sustainability of a patient-centred health system and, most importantly, continue keeping Singaporeans as healthy as possible for as long as possible.
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