Three quarters (75%) of payors, clinicians and health care administrators surveyed say technology is very effective in helping health systems shift to a value-based health care (VBHC) model, according to a new study by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®. The report lays out four recommendations on the fundamental role technology can play in advancing VBHC model, in which health care providers are paid based on outcomes, not services rendered.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fast tracked the use of technology services such as telehealth and remote patient monitoring, and highlighted problems with the current U.S. health care system. Integrating technologies will be critical in shifting to a value-based system by addressing the vast amounts of information and data, gaps in quality of care, general lack of efficiency and administrative burdens that slow progress toward VBHC.
CTA’s report, Reinvigorating Value-Based Health Care: Exploring the Role of Technology Innovation, uncovers how tech can help address gaps in the health care system and accelerate transition to VBHC. The study uses literature and data review; a survey of 150 U.S. health care industry professionals; and interviews with experts including Bakul Patel, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Digital Health Division; Marc Willard, vice president at Humana; and Mintu Turakhia, executive director of Stanford Center for Digital Health.
“Through a value-based health care system, technology can help deliver better outcomes and provide more accessible care for patients, as well as lower ballooning health care costs,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “We cannot go back to the broken health care system before the COVID-19 pandemic. Embracing technology can help us reach a ‘quality over quantity’ model and if done right, a value-based approach could help us weather future crises more effectively.”
Based on the existing evidence and data from first-hand interviews, the report outlines four technology recommendations to drive VBHC forward:
Use standardization, collaboration and security to break down silos in health care systems to align various stakeholder goals and foster collaboration for achieving VBHC.
Capture and share interoperable, transparent data to achieve value for all members of the health system.
Inform and revise integrated communication, decisions and processes as technology closes the gap between patient values and health care system values.
Drive efficiency and accountability as value-based payment approaches are bolstered by technologies which allow access to relevant data and provide meaningful incentives.
When asked which aspects of VBHC patients value most, the health care professionals surveyed said higher-quality care and ease of access to care (such as making appointments to follow up) are the most critical. And when asked about which technologies have the most potential to drive health systems toward VBHC, survey respondents most frequently cited electronic health records, followed by telemedicine, artificial intelligence, wearables, automated document systems and machine learning.
Yet, only 60% of payors, clinicians and health care administrators surveyed said their organizations had a clear vision for how to collect and use patient-generated data to drive value. Even though data is crucial for outcome-based decisions, there are still challenges when it comes to translating this data into clinical information that is predictive and useful.
“One of the greatest gaps between the theory of VBHC and its practice is implementing resources in and out of the clinical environment,” said René Quashie, vice president of digital health, CTA. “Technology is crucial to pursuing VBHC – with the ability the collect, synchronize, measure and analyze disparate data – and most importantly, provide better value and save lives.”
Reinvigorating Value-Based Health Care: Exploring the Role of Technology Innovation was designed and formulated by CTA, in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit. The survey fielded between March 31-April 6, 2020, among 150 U.S. payors, providers, and health care administrators.
The complete report is available for free for CTA members at CTA.tech/research.