vascular access infection prevention
Value-Based Care for Improved Outcomes and Healthcare Cost Reduction
VBC is defined as care that maximizes healthcare quality and improves outcomes based on dollars spent .
In a word , VBC focuses on efficiency .
Value-based care ( VBC ) is designed to promote improvement in patient safety and quality . Value based initiatives began as part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid ( CMS ) financial reform in the early 1960s and have continued to transition through many iterations aimed at reducing cost , with a current emphasis focused on improvement of patient outcomes . What is VBC , as defined by CMS , and how does it affect the provision of healthcare services ? VBC is defined as care that maximizes healthcare quality and improves outcomes based on dollars spent . In a word , VBC focuses on efficiency .
More than healthcare jargon and alphabet soup , VBC sets up the best value or quality of care , divided by the cost of care to determine total value . Outcomes per dollar spent boils down to safe , effective , and efficient care to equal value from both the facility and the patient perspective . The VBC process has evolved to include specific tactics and methods that promote the aims of VBC and value-based purchasing ( VBP ) to measure outcomes and establish payment based on meeting or exceeding benchmarks .
Strategies and Examples for Improved Outcomes
In 2020 more than 35 percent of hospital national payments were tied to value-based reimbursements indicating the transition to VBC is accelerating . Strategies working within VBC include care management processes with care coordination for chronic conditions , care specialists , contracted partnerships and other tactics that lead to improved outcomes .
No longer are healthcare services tied to procedural activities as with fee for service , more and more service reimbursement is dictated by outcomes at or above benchmarks or eliminated with complications causing a decline in scores . Providers are accountable for outcomes across the full continuum of care . Care management processes used as strategies fall under the domains of care coordination , chronic care management , data monitoring , transitional care , and colocation of services .
Accountable care organizations ( ACO ) and healthcare medical home facilitate transitions within various care settings to integrate primary , acute , and post-acute health services that promote the highest level of health and wellness for persons in the community . ACOs work together with providers through bundled payment contracts for cost savings and greater efficiency of services .
Top-performing facilities receiving the highest reimbursements have integrated these and other strategies to reduce hospital readmissions , coordinate care in the home or long-term care , and promote patient health through a variety of methods including education initiatives .
Leaders in maximizing VBC efficiency improvement strategies through their comprehensive database of actionable data , clinical best practices , optimizing supply chain , and integrating pharmacy solutions are some of the group purchasing organizations ( GPOs ). These companies review and select the best products for providers and patients , integrating many functions as ACOs for population-health solutions within VBC .
With the strength of buying power , these large GPOs establish alliances with U . S . hospitals and other product providers to promote savings that can result in improved health for communities and patient populations . Some early successes around infection prevention of bloodstream infections and central line associated bloodstream infections were achieved with hospital implementation of strategies that promoted customized maximum barrier catheter insertion kits , infection-protected catheters , and standardized transparent dressings .
The value-based contracting effort of some of these GPOs allowed hospitals to measure and analyze results toward achievement of their goals into higher quartile clinical indication levels . Incorporating ACOs , bundled payments for healthcare improvement , high-value networks and physician enterprise solutions these GPOs lead the way in transforming healthcare within the VBC model into high-quality , cost-effective healthcare .
Medical device companies work together with providers under shared VBC contracts for patients with end stage renal disease ( ESRD ). These patients with chronic health issues were included within population health management models promoting chronic kidney disease ( CKD ) and ESRD treatment choices for dialysis at home , transplant facilitation and other patient options . Care coordination within this patient population can help to delay renal disease progression , improve transitions to dialysis , reduce patient acuity and disease crash requiring dialysis , control blood pressure , manage medications , establish better monitoring , and coordinate optimal vascular access prior to initiation of dialysis . Patient-based care encourages more patient