As we learned in Defining Value Based Care in Today’s World, VBC helps Doctors, Physician Assistants (PAs), Nurse Practitioners and Nurses do what they have always wanted to do, which is improve patient health. Not only does this system help them get an organized handle on the care of chronic diseases such as diabetes, pre-diabetes, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis in women and more, it also rewards the providers for doing a good job. It helps them see fewer patients in a given time period and help all of their patients more successfully. This is what we call the shift from a large Volume (of patients) to Valuable care. (Quality OVER Quantity)
Story Time: A Personal Example
A couple of years ago, I met with a large group of Professional Caregivers on this topic. Their attitude was that I had “moved to the dark side” and that insurance companies had been “ripping them off for years and they had no intention of listening to them.” I spent nearly two hours trying to teach them about how the improved workflow could help them and unfortunately, they refused to believe anything I was trying to teach them. I showed them examples of how the data revealed that their patients were not getting the care they should and could if only they started focusing on quality over quantity through efficiency measures designed for this purpose. I know these particular Docs very well and personally know that they care a great deal about their patients, but like we all do sometimes, they allowed their anger for past experiences close them off to changing with the times and their patients are suffering because of it.
It’s important to note that we spend over $3 trillion on healthcare in this country and about one-third of these dollars are wasted due to the inefficiencies in the system. The Value Based Care model helps to save a lot of these dollars while delivering improved healthcare. We spend over twice as many dollars per person in this country than any other country in the world. We are the 36th healthiest country in this world in spite of these dollars spent, but there’s always room for improvement and no reason we can’t raise to the top. It’s also important to note that Wellness Programs are becoming more and more important to individuals and this will help providers start to see how their patient’s priorities align with these new processes.
The Win-Win-Win of the Value Based Care Model
Providers get to not only maintain the health and wellness of their patients, but they have to time to help their patients become healthier than they were before!
- Patients won’t need as many expensive treatments or hospitalizations in the long term
- Patients and their families are more satisfied with their care because their Providers spend more time with them and their health is improving more expediently
- Providers feel better about what they are accomplishing
- Money savings allow for better pay and an improved work life balance for Professional Caregivers
This model is causing an important shift in the American & International Healthcare Systems that accentuates the significance of keeping people fit. Providers now have a process that allows them to help patients practice better diet, exercise, and behavior when it comes to drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse as well.
