There are various national programs and payers incentivizing health care organizations to improve the quality of care offered, by driving better population health while simultaneously reducing the per capita health care cost. This concept is part of larger national, state, and local conversations around health care payment reform, including migrating health care payment models from fee-for-service to quality-of-care.
The transition of reimbursement models from fee-for-service to quality-of-care is known as value-based care, or accountable care, and is designed for health care organizations to achieve the ‘Quadruple Aim’ of health care — improving population health and patient and provider experiences whilst reducing the overall health care costs. The Quadruple Aim is a compass guiding the direction that the health system — including both patients and providers — needs to go in.
As value-based care becomes more prevalent, the quality of care that is provided becomes essential, and it all starts with the provider and care team. Additionally, improving the patient experience aims to enhance the quality of care that patients receive and originated from the Institute of Medicine’s publication, Crossing the Quality Chasm, in which they outlined six domains of health care quality or need:
- Safety
- Effectiveness
- Patient-centeredness
- Timeliness
- Efficiency
- Equity
Utah’s health centers are framing this conversation with Utah payers. Utah’s health center staff have the opportunity to lead the dialogue on what this looks like in Utah and ultimately transform patient care and performance to better long-term health outcomes for patients and the communities we serve.