Key Latin American healthcare leaders met to discuss localized approaches to VBHC.
Perspective Leads to Progress in VBHC: Building the Bridge Between Payer & Provider
The Medtronic Value-based Healthcare Roadshow is a platform for top-level healthcare leaders across Latin America to discuss and advance localized approaches to VBHC. Kicking off the conversation in Argentina, we uncovered regional insights from 30 top stakeholders.
THE PAYER PERSPECTIVE
Tom Leyden of Blue Cross Blue Shield focused on what VBHC means to the payer. With a presentation on how BCBS is implementing VBHC into its system, he addressed the rising concern of keeping the cost of healthcare lower. Leyden shared his experience during the implementation of the most important fee per performance plan in the United States. He emphasized that striving for lower costs doesn’t require putting quality in question.
THE PROVIDER PERSPECTIVE
Cardiologist Dr. Hitinder Gurm reinforced the accomplishments of the Blue Cross Blue Shield program by sharing how the Cardiovascular Consortium helped to improve the quality of angioplasties performed in the state of Michigan.
One attendee noted a key takeaway from the day’s presentations: “Delivering the highest caliber of care to patients, regardless of cost, is the provider’s number one priority,” he said. “Through understanding the payer perspective and testing methods we can build a collective vision for a VBHC system.”
HOW CAN WE ADVANCE VBHC TOGETHER?
While payers are focused on costs and providers on quality, a successful VBHC model prioritizes both equally. By the end of the day, there was strong agreement on what could help all stakeholders come together to progress VBHC:
- Work to break down silos between payers and providers
- Share data and case studies that give a better grasp of processes and outcomes
- Align incentives and share advocacy for progressing VBHC
Gabriela Prada, Director of Government Affairs for Medtronic, emphasized how VBHC requires us to redefine partnerships and operations in healthcare. “When the health system is based on volume, it is common to see one stakeholder winning and the other losing, but in a value-based healthcare environment, this can’t happen,” she explains. “Both the payers and providers must agree to put the patient in the center, define what value means for a specific therapy and establish a unique way to measure the outcomes. This means that we’re all working together to achieve the same objective.”
While payers are focused on costs and providers on quality, a successful VBHC model prioritizes both equally.