Better care at lower costs. That’s the aim of MyHealth Bundles from Vanderbilt Health. And it’s working. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently honored MyHealth Bundles with a 2023-2024 Innovation Award, recognizing leading-edge strategies that improve both quality and value.
NCQA's Quality Matters podcast episode recently featured Brittany Cunningham, DNP, MSN, RN, CSSBB, vice president of Vanderbilt Health’s Episodes of Care Office. She talked about the advantages of this approach to value-based care to patients, employers and providers.
For employers, the goal is to lower costs while still giving employees excellent care, she said. Each procedure comes with a set price, and it’s up to Vanderbilt Health to deliver at that price. Employers appreciate the “predictability of using the bundle,” Cunningham added.
Providers get the chance to practice evidence-based care solutions, “which sometimes were held back by insurance rules, preventing them from doing what they knew was best for patients,” she explained.
Patients get a seamless experience. “They know everything is taken care of and there's no surprise bills,” she said, emphasizing that patients typically pay low-to-no out-of-pocket costs.
Unique Approach, Measurable Results
“We have found that by aligning clinical care with what the patient needs and what the provider wants to provide, we're not cutting anything out,” Cunningham said. “We are incentivizing the provider to do what is appropriate for the patient.”
The result: Better outcomes. For example, the MySpineHealth Bundle has nearly a 0% infection rate, and 89% of patients are back to work within 90 days vs. a national average of 68%. The Net Promoter patient satisfaction score for MySpineHealth is 100. (The average patient satisfaction score for all MyHealth Bundles is 83 versus an average health care score of 45.)
While Cunningham recognizes that value-based care can involve a culture change, she says employers can start small. “If it's just in one area, start with a small contract to measure quality,” she said, adding “the sooner you get started, the better.” Listen to the entire interview at this Spotify link.
