NEWS, COMMENT & INSIGHT

On this podcast recording for #HCBiz, Jason Helgerson shares his perspective on Value-based payment progress and direction, outlines who needs to get involved and how, and discusses how to measure success. That is, how will we know if value-based payment has been adequately deployed, and more importantly, how will we know if it’s working?

Jason Helgerson blogs following his recent trip to Sweden… Efficiency is one of the most commonly used terms in global health care.  Whether your country is rich or poor, you are concerned about efficiency.  This is especially the case in ageing societies where demand is growing, making maintaining quality and access a significant challenge.

On the 26 November 2018, Jason Helgerson addressed Forum for Välfärd in Sweden, which aimed to address the real challenges of the welfare sector. Through fact-based analysis, anchoring and in-depth dialogue with other stakeholders involved in welfare activities, the forum plans to contribute concrete, feasible proposals for lasting improvement in welfare, with special focus on healthcare and care.

Various versions of collaboration are being tried across the US and within the NHS in England. While we may use different acronyms – ACO, ACS, PPS, CCO, IDS, etc – each attempt at collaboration is rooted in the same theory of action that collaboration will produce the win-win. While it’s easy in theory, it’s much more challenging to implement in real-world settings around the world.

The policy fellows will harness their specialized knowledge and on the ground experience to help USofCare develop and refine policies that ensure a regular source of care and better health for more Americans so they don’t have to choose between health care and other commitments in their life.

We need new care and payment models that free providers to improve care in ways that work better for patients and communities. We need to harness technology and make care more humane by truly making the system patient-centered and not provider-centered. Change agents at every level of each system must be found and empowered to lead innovation. Without them, we have darker days ahead.

I’m not suggesting that accessing healthcare is like buying a jumper. Healthcare is far more important and complex and patients need well-trained professionals to help them make decisions and access the care they need. That said, we need to harness the power of technology and innovate so that we can maximize the full value of our healthcare professions, especially given the fiscal realities we face.

The gains from cross-sector collaboration are easy to imagine, but it can often be challenging for us to know where to start. Who should I call? Who is responsible for this kind of work? How do I find the time? The good news is there is an existing framework for how sectors and institutions can work together collaboratively to solve highly complex, population-level issues – collective impact. 

At this point you may ask: Jason, have you been trying some medical marijuana? Nope. I just believe – based on personal experience here in New York and elsewhere – that transformation, even in the most difficult of budget environments, is possible. In fact, I think it’s easier to do when your back is up against the wall and you have no other options. 

“It’s not easy, but it can be done and it can be extremely rewarding,” Jason told us.  “I have found that our greatest successes in transformation in New York are all tied to meaningful community engagement.“

My challenge to all who care about the NHS is to innovate – even in the face of funding challenges. The patients you care for need you to solider on. In New York, some of our greatest innovations came during a funding crisis. We actually used the funding crisis caused by the Great Recession to drive vested interests off the status quo and embrace change. I am convinced this can be done in the NHS.