The Tango to Modern Collaboration and Patient-Centric Value Generation in Health Care - a real-world guide from practitioners for practitioners

Background: Value-Based Health Care (VBHC) represents a pivotal shift from volume-based to outcome-driven quality metrics centered on patient-valued outcomes. This approach requires collaboration across all participants in the health care value chain; providers, payers, pharma, policymakers and patients (collectively known as the 5Ps). Despite substantial theoretical endorsement of VBHC's potential for improving health outcomes and system efficiency, empirical evidence detailing its practical implementation remains limited. This field study evaluates the real-word implementation of VBHC within a health care organization.

Methods: In 2022, a health care collaboration Think Tank initiated this investigation during a breakout session, gathering insights from 12 leading international organizations to construct an empirical VBHC transformation reference guide. Real-world data was collected through structured interviews over a 1-year period, covering the 5 P value chain in various healthcare settings. The VBHC initiatives were analyzed through four stages: initiation, data acquisition, collaborative frameworks, and results evaluation.

Results: The 12 interviews identified five key enablers for successful VBHC implementation: 1. Organizational Purpose: defining core motivators for change; 2. People: identifying pivotal roles and leadership to endorse change; 3. Resources: securing personnel and financial support; 4. Data Infrastructure: developing interoperable IT systems for effective data sharing and collection; 5. Execution: prioritizing sustained implementation processes.

Conclusion: The findings highlight that VBHC implementation and adoption is complex and requires incremental advancements, dedicated leadership, and resilient strategic framework spanning over multiple years. A comprehensive understanding of patient populations, risk stratification, and appropriate outcome metrics are essential to measure and deliver the VBHC transformation. Executive endorsement and transition funding during the transformation process are paramount to support this systemic shift. Collaboration among all 5 P stakeholders is essential for success. This field study underscores the importance of continuous learning and adaptation, providing a practical guide to enhance health care quality and efficiency that serves all stakeholders.