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'Drugs don't work in patients who don't take them.' -- Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop

While healthcare leaders uniformly agree that transitioning to value is the way healthcare is going to be in the coming days, it is unclear to most how they can make the transition without negatively impacting their cost outcomes. In an industry which had primarily been fee-for-service based, healthcare organizations are facing immense pressure to innovate and adapt or risk their long-term viability.

One of my old friends, albeit in good health, had a stressful job and odd working hours, which resulted in poor eating habits and work-life balance. His PCP suggested that he consult a psychologist and nutritionist, as well as also prescribed a thyroid stimulating hormone test to check his thyroid function. However, it took him almost three weeks to get an appointment with both of these specialists. After talking to my friend, these providers suggested some lifestyle changes and a couple of therapies. He again booked an appointment with his PCP with updates from both the psychologist and the nutritionist.

The transformation to value-based care has mostly been led by Medicare, with 34% of traditional Medicare reimbursements already paid under an alternative payment model. And the transition has only just begun. However, this emphasis has left pediatric organizations struggling to apply value-based care to a very different population set.

Although HIMSS19 is way past us, ideas that struck a chord with who’s who of healthcare at the event are still reverberating across the nation, even two months later.

Once while I was scrolling through the news feed on my phone, there was one specific line that really made me wonder: “There’s a 40% chance of gusty and blustery winds today.”Statements such as this one strongly influence people’s behavior, as they are based on evidence or data findings from years of surveying, studying, and analyzing past trends and occurrences.