How Can This Research Help Achieve Success in Value-Based Care Models?

We've explored the demand and supply drivers of healthcare utilization. My next posts will consider how this research can help achieve success in value-based care models. First, we need to consider what defines “value" in healthcare.

Why? 

According various studies, U.S. healthcare spending is the highest in the world while healthcare outcomes are low, but it’s not all bad news.

Oncology innovation shows even greater results. We'll explore thoughts about why in a future post.

💡 What Do We Mean by “Healthcare Value”?

In simple terms:

Healthcare Value = Quality/Cost

• Quality includes outcomes that matter to patients — such as survival, functional improvement, experience, safety, and adherence to evidence-based care.

• Cost refers to the total resources expended to achieve those outcomes — including direct medical costs, administrative costs, and sometimes patient time or financial burden.

In value-based care, increasing value means either:

• Improving outcomes without increasing costs,

• Reducing costs while maintaining outcomes, or

• Doing both simultaneously.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Porter & Teisberg’s framework from Redefining Health Care are often cited as foundational, emphasizing that value should always be measured per patient, over a full cycle of care.

• High-value care improves outcomes that matter to patients — survival, function, experience, and safety — while keeping costs in check.

• Value-based care models build on this principle: deliver better results for patients without unnecessary spending.That could mean improving outcomes without raising costs, lowering costs while maintaining outcomes, or ideally, both.

As Michael Porter put it:

“Value should be measured by the health outcomes achieved per dollar spent.”

The conversation around healthcare value isn’t just about efficiency — it’s about aligning incentives, accountability, and compassion to achieve what truly matters most: better health for every patient.

“In community oncology, achieving value means delivering the highest quality care possible within real-world reimbursement constraints. It’s about being stewards of both patient outcomes and practice sustainability — ensuring that every treatment decision adds measurable benefit, not just cost.” — Dr. Linda K. Hendricks, MD, Community Oncologist at AON/Central Georgia Cancer Care

High-value care isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters most — improving outcomes without unnecessary spending.

In oncology, that means aligning care teams, data, and incentives around a shared goal: better outcomes, smarter resource use, and meaningful patient impact.

📊 At a Glance:

• Value-based care = better outcomes per dollar spent

• Quality encompasses patient-centered outcomes, safety, and experience

• Reducing waste is not the same as reducing value

• True value comes from coordinated, outcome-driven care