Welcome to the most exciting time in health care history! by Kenyatta Lee, MD, Chief Quality Officer, UT Health Physicians
We are in the midst of continuous transformation in the health care industry with a fundamental shift in our current business model. Value-based care is paying providers based on quality and cost of care measured by clinical outcomes, patient experience, information technology, care coordination and cost. Moving from a volume-based to a value-based payment model will allow us to focus on patient-centered care and provide the best medicine of our lives. This is what our patients ask for and what they deserve.
As we prepare to transition into an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), we must pivot away from silos, variability in care, and care that does not put the patient first. Our practice must evolve to provide care that is team-based, engages patients and physicians in collaborative coordination of care, and whose primary focus is the patient. Accountability and risk sharing in meeting quality performance standards and lowering health care costs will ensure success in an ACO model.
Each of us has an opportunity and an obligation to lead in a way that positively impacts patient and organizational outcomes. Patients are consumers before they ever become our patients. We must compete for patients. To do this successfully, we must exhibit intentional effort in demonstrating the value we provide. We must be innovative in finding new ways of improving the health of our patients, providing the services they need when and where they need them and provide an exceptional and differentiated experience that isn’t offered anywhere else.
“The enterprise that does not innovate inevitably ages and declines. And in a period of rapid change such as the present…the decline will be fast.” Peter Drucker
It is has been an exciting 15 months at UT Health San Antonio. I have enjoyed getting to know you and the unique talents and qualities each of you bring to our organization. Thank you for your passion and commitment to excellence in the care we provide to the patients who count on us every day.
