There is general agreement among health care providers that when high-value care is consistently considered from the perspective of our patients, we can achieve the goal of delivering the best care for patients. That means focusing on outcomes that matter to patients.
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This requires us to be dedicated to measurement and to achieving outcomes that matter to our patients. And yes, it means we also must consider and address costs.
Each of these goals is complicated, and there are many intricacies involved in considering these measures for health care. We will delve into this topic in much more detail in the following modules.
Watch the interactive video below. When the video pauses, you will have the opportunity to answer on-screen questions about the material. The video will resume once you have answered the question correctly.
In that statement (2011), Dr. Berwick makes the strongest argument for the goal of improving value for patients. Improving value requires us to attend to both outcomes and costs. Efforts based on the primary goal of improving efficiency have not achieved enough. Health care costs are still too high in 2017, and it is ever-clearer that value for patients, that is, outcomes achieved for the money spent, needs to define the true north of clinicians’ efforts.
Better outcomes reduce costs. Whenever we prevent or slow disease progression, get the right diagnosis (the first time), improve outcomes in ways that reduce the need for repeated care, reduce disability, improve effectiveness of treatments, reduce invasiveness of treatments, or reduce wasteful and redundant treatments, we are reducing the costs associated with health care. Health care waste is anything that does not add value for the patient. This includes tests, medications, and procedures that are not making people healthier.
Remember our obligation to “First, Do No Harm”!