New Roadmap Aims to Transform Healthcare Landscape by Minimizing Low Value Services

August 13, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing financial disruption and turbulence on an unprecedented scale raising further questions on how to best allocate limited resources. Even before the pandemic, low-value care was a principle driver of healthcare costs. Facilitating efficient use of resources that minimizes low-value services while maximizing high-value ones is paramount in the context of COVID-19. To that end, the Going Below The Surface (GBTS) Forum developed the Roadmap for Addressing Low-value Care designed to serve as a reference tool to help organizations consider key goals, questions and tactics to effectively implement a plan to focus on services that enable optimal outcomes.

According to Jerry Penso, MD, MBA, President and CEO, American Medical Group Association (AMGA) “Medical groups and health systems are working to create health care that is more accessible, affordable and sustainable. By moving to value-based payment models, where the financial incentives reward high quality and cost efficiency, these high-performing providers are transforming how health care is organized and delivered.  One area of focus has been low-value care, treatments or services that don’t offer real value for patients. In the value-based world, low-value care is an obvious target that should rally providers, patients and payers. The Roadmap provides a systematic approach to reducing or eliminating this wasteful care and helps all those who align around value.”

Addressing costly inefficiencies in the healthcare system is crucial, especially as high-value COVID-19 therapies become available. Through reducing low-value care and its associated costs, greater opportunities to improve patient outcomes and quality of care are created while spending is simultaneously reduced. Preparing for the challenges ahead will require bold steps toward improving care delivery and efficiency across all sectors of healthcare.  Find out more about the roadmap here.

(Source: GBTS July 29, 2020)

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