Value in Health Care: Accounting for Cost, Quality, Safety, Outcomes, and Innovation

Excerpt

Value in Health Care: Accounting for Cost, Quality, Safety, Outcomes, and Innovation summarizes a two-day workshop held in November 2008, convened by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Value & Science-Driven Health Care as part of its Learning Healthcare System workshop series. While the purpose of the workshop was not to yield a single definition of value, and, as a result, no single consistent definition of value was identified by the participants, this meeting did provide a forum for the broad spectrum of stakeholders in health to discuss the range of issues relevant to defining, assessing, and measuring the benefits received from our healthcare investments. This collection of papers and insights reflect the serious, reflective engagement of patients, providers, manufacturers, economists, payers, and employers—from both public and private sectors—in the central issues of value in health care. Participants discussed issues such as the mandate for improving value given rising expenditures on health care and the turbulent economic climate; the importance of perspective when defining value; the importance of communication between all involved stakeholders—but especially between patients, consumers, and providers—in order to improve outcomes while reducing costs; the tools available to incentivize value creation, including pay-for-performance, value-based insurance design, and electronic health records; and the opportunities and barriers for implementation and change.