New KPMG International report provides roadmap to create value-based health systems

According to a report published today by KPMG International, What works: Creating value-based healthcare organizations, health systems that have a clear vision of value can achieve significant improvements in patient care at lower cost.

"Delivering real value in healthcare requires complete engagement with patients, a culture of measuring long-term outcomes, and better coordination of care with more integrated governance throughout the system," says Dr. Mark Britnell, Chairman, Global Health Practice, KPMG International. "The good news, as our report demonstrates, is that an increasing number of healthcare organizations are making the changes required to deliver sustainable healthcare value."

According to the report's lead author, Dr. Anna van Poucke, Healthcare lead for KPMG in the Netherlands, the first step is rethinking how 'value' is defined in healthcare: "Fantastic treatment procedures are great, but if the procedure is followed by a five week wait for rehabilitation, the overall outcome is less than optimal for the patient. I have seen from experience that it's the organizations that are really committed to measure the value they create, that are able to fundamentally improve their service and market share."

The report provides healthcare systems and providers with a roadmap for transformation with a "value maturity matrix" that outlines changes across five areas that are crucial to creating value-based health systems:

• Patient engagement. In a value-based healthcare system patients are not passive recipients of care, but active participants in designing their care pathways and in measuring the outcomes.
• Defining and measuring outcomes. Measuring patient outcomes is central to the value-based approach. Long-term outcomes are the responsibility of all providers and results should be shared across the system and, ultimately, with the public.
• Coordinated care. Value is created by having a strong care chain that can provide integrated care plans for specific groups and segments, with links to the wider community to enhance prevention and wellness.
• Governance. Structures and systems support processes for coordination of care pathways and providers and for continuous outcome measurement and improvement.
• Contracting. Contracts are a powerful and often under-utilized way to drive greater healthcare value and support a patient and outcome oriented approach. Healthcare organizations increasingly are looking to introduce contracts that reward value.

"By placing patient value at the core of everything they do, organizations of all types can give patients the care they need and want, where and when they want it," adds van Poucke.