Learning to provide value-based care by learning what valuable care is

Numa Perez, MD

Resident in General Surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital

PGY-5 (3 clinical years, 2 research)

02/02/2020

Numa Perez ,MD

Having dabbled in health services research exploring differences in outcomes and health care disparities, I often used terms like value-based health care, healthcare costs, etc. without really understanding what those terms truly meant. I spoke to both colleagues and non-medical acquaintances ab

out bundle-payments and ACOs, without actually knowing what those terms entailed. Taking the COE Value-Based Healthcare Delivery course placed these concepts in the context of real-life examples, allowing me to finally grasp them.

Understanding what constitutes value-based health care is crucial for me, as I embark in what I hope will be a productive career as a surgeon-scientist. In fact, I would propose it should be crucial to all in the field of medicine, whether interested in clinical practice, research, or a combination of both. How can we figure out if we’re providing our patients with the best care possible or compare different treatment options (e.g. pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments and techniques, delivery methods, etc.) if we cannot first clearly establish what high-quality care is, and most importantly how to measure it? I strongly believe it is a grave deficiency in the latter that has led our healthcare system to be what it currently is, an untamable behemoth that provides disparate care, highly dependent on a economic means and health literacy, at an ever-growing cost.

Taking the COE VBHD course will have an incredible impact in my future practice, as it will allow me to place every future endeavor, whether clinical or research-related, into context by always keeping sight of the critical importance of providing care that focuses on what’s important and valuable to our patients.