MCG Value-Based Healthcare Competition

Value-based healthcare is a healthcare reimbursement model that focuses on delivering better quality of care to patients at a lower cost. Providers are reimbursed based on how well they improve patient outcomes, reduce the effects and incidence of chronic diseases, and help patients live healthier lives. This differs from the “fee-for service” model, where healthcare workers are reimbursed based on the number of services provided. As of 2020, the US spent nearly 20% of its GDP on healthcare – that is over 4 trillion dollars.  Part of this cost can be attributed to various wastes in healthcare, such as excess administrative costs, inefficiently delivered services, inflated prices, fraud, missed prevention opportunities, and unnecessary services.

Value deficits are common in the healthcare system we will one day work in. As future leaders in healthcare, we must play a key role in recognizing, addressing, and ameliorating these issues. By cultivating these skills early on in our medical education, we hope to be better prepared to serve our future patients and the healthcare system as a whole.

• Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology that exposes and solves problems to eliminate waste and improve efficiency in processes that deliver value to patients and members of the healthcare team.
• It combines two methodologies: Lean and Six Sigma. Lean focuses on reducing waste by streamlining processes. Six Sigma focuses on using problem solving to prevent defects.
• The Lean Six Sigma framework consists of five components: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control.
  • Define – define the problem
  • Measure – quantify the problem
  • Analyze – identify the cause of the problem
  • Improve – implement and verify the solution(s)
  • Control – maintain the solution(s)
• More information about Lean Six Sigma and other tools will be included in the care packages provided to each team.

• Patient- and family-centered care is an approach to healthcare delivery that emphasizes the importance of developing and maintaining a mutually beneficial partnership between healthcare providers, patients, and their families. All parties play a role in the decision-making process and participate in the patient's care. Much like the goal of a value-based healthcare approach, the PFCC approach leads to better healthcare outcomes, improved patient and family experience of care, better clinician and staff satisfaction, and better allocation of resources.
• To learn more, visit https://www.ipfcc.org/about/pfcc.html
• How does patient- and family-centered care tie into VBHC?
  • This competition is designed to challenge students to critically think of solutions to healthcare problems and implement these solutions in the real world. One of the main steps of this process includes engaging stakeholders which include the patients and their families. It is imperative that their voices be heard and their autonomy to be respected and upheld in the healthcare delivery process. This competition aims to introduce students to the many different facets of healthcare and to think about how these facets contribute to patient outcomes.

• IHI Open School offers FREE, self-paced, online courses to students on topics including quality improvement, patient safety, leadership, and more! 
• Sign up here to create an account and get immediate access to their online courses: https://my.ihi.org/portal/content/knowledge/freeos.aspx