The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
08/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/09/2024 09:53
Study vets new approach to providing best care
Study vets new approach to providing best care
August 9, 2024 •10:38 a.m.
A value-based care initiative at the University of Texas Medical Branch made significant progress toward goals in blood management, antimicrobial treatment, laboratory services, imaging services and opioid stewardship, according to a study published in the Journal of Healthcare Management.
According to the recently published study, the ongoing initiative seeks innovative ways to control the cost of healthcare and make it more accessible while providing the best care for patients. It features teams, led by organizational leaders and included nursing, information technology, pharmacy and clinical and nonclinical personnel, who set goals with targeted interventions. Using data gleaned from healthcare management software, teams were able to track progress toward each goal.
"We're creating a culture change - not telling people what to do but engaging the collective parties, whether that be nursing pharmacy staff our patients to make sure that they know they are receiving the best care possible," said Dr. Stephen Williams, a professor, Chief of Urology, Medical Director of High Value Care at UTMB and one of the study authors. "We're constantly challenging ourselves and the system internally and externally to provide best care."
Value-based care emphasizes healthcare delivery organized around patients' medical conditions, costs and outcomes, Williams said.
One of the goals tracked in the study was to ensure that clinicians adhere to Prescription Drug Monitoring Program standards for evaluating patient records before prescribing opioids.
"We were able to achieve almost a 100 percent compliance rate," Williams said.
Other goals proved more difficult to achieve, such as reducing the incidence of repeated complete blood counts for a patient within a 100-day window.
Even in those situations, the learning continued.
"We continue helping each other understand what we are trying to achieve and keeping our mission as the center focus: providing best care," Williams said.
UTMB was a founding member of the High Value Practice Alliance, which now has 130 members, in 2017. The alliance formed in response to rising healthcare costs and the resulting impact on access to care.
Williams said this program is helping position UTMB for the future, gathering data that could be used to negotiate costs and to get out ahead of future mandates related to value-based care.
"This is the first of many initiatives," Williams said. "We'll take what we've learned here and continue to improve the care we provide to our patients. With each goal we set, each initiative started, we can provide better, more efficient care, which is what patients and health care providers want."
According to the recently published study, the ongoing initiative seeks innovative ways to control the cost of healthcare and make it more accessible while providing the best care for patients. It features teams, led by organizational leaders and included nursing, information technology, pharmacy and clinical and nonclinical personnel, who set goals with targeted interventions. Using data gleaned from healthcare management software, teams were able to track progress toward each goal.
"We're creating a culture change - not telling people what to do but engaging the collective parties, whether that be nursing pharmacy staff our patients to make sure that they know they are receiving the best care possible," said Dr. Stephen Williams, a professor, Chief of Urology, Medical Director of High Value Care at UTMB and one of the study authors. "We're constantly challenging ourselves and the system internally and externally to provide best care."
Value-based care emphasizes healthcare delivery organized around patients' medical conditions, costs and outcomes, Williams said.
One of the goals tracked in the study was to ensure that clinicians adhere to Prescription Drug Monitoring Program standards for evaluating patient records before prescribing opioids.
"We were able to achieve almost a 100 percent compliance rate," Williams said.
Other goals proved more difficult to achieve, such as reducing the incidence of repeated complete blood counts for a patient within a 100-day window.
Even in those situations, the learning continued.
"We continue helping each other understand what we are trying to achieve and keeping our mission as the center focus: providing best care," Williams said.
UTMB was a founding member of the High Value Practice Alliance, which now has 130 members, in 2017. The alliance formed in response to rising healthcare costs and the resulting impact on access to care.
Williams said this program is helping position UTMB for the future, gathering data that could be used to negotiate costs and to get out ahead of future mandates related to value-based care.
"This is the first of many initiatives," Williams said. "We'll take what we've learned here and continue to improve the care we provide to our patients. With each goal we set, each initiative started, we can provide better, more efficient care, which is what patients and health care providers want."