A shift towards health outcomes from care delivery is becoming a movement. Our ongoing research into health outcome models has navigated us through converging strands about the future of health outcomes.
This post directs you to that further reading; a book, podcasts, and websites.
The Futures of Health
Patrick Glinski from Idea Couture presented aspects from their thought provoking book The Futures of Health – Spaces + Places of Care at a recent Hacking Health cafe. It is our highest recommended read. Chapter 5 on Economic + Human Values in Healthcare is pertinent to the ongoing discussion about outcomes. It would be interesting to see the Delphi expert analysis presented as radar charts (Kaplan RS, et al. Measuring and Communicating Health Care Value with Charts. Harvard Business Review. 2015;10). The book is well structured around shifts, tension matrices, narratives and design principles. It is exceptionally well referenced and illustrated, reminding me a little of Business Model Generation.
Reith Lectures
Dr Atal Gawande is a spellbindingly good storyteller of the highest order. His 2014 BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures – The Future of Medicine are articulate, measured and insightful. The podcasts are the perfect accompaniment to his outstanding book Being Mortal as well as complementing this wider topic.
We are graduating from the century of the molecule to the century of the system.” Atul Gawande
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) initiative with an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is sponsored by Medtronic. Medtronic is demonstrating extraordinary pioneering thought leadership in this field. We recommend exploring their website, watching this powerful video and signing up for the Nov 9 webinar – VALUE-BASED HEALTHCARE: BUILDING A NEW ECOSYSTEM
ICHOM – What Matters Most
What Matters Most is an excellent resource from The International Consortium of Health Outcome Measures (ICHOM), that illustrates case studies focussed on health outcomes and the work ahead. President of ICHOM, Christina Akerman, MD, PhD speaks in this EIU video sponsored by Medtronic on the methodology and importance of this assessment. ICHOM has recently launched the TechHub, a review-based directory of electronic tools for outcomes measurement.
Project ECHO
Project ECHO aims to train primary care physicians through the use of video conferencing technologies. ECHO is a Hub and Spoke model of knowledge dissemination and capacity building. It aims to spread knowledge between Academic Health Science centres and the frontline of community care. The origins of Project ECHO address remote areas in developing countries and yet it is also being explored in the field of wound care in Ontario, Canada. The results of the Guyana Diabetes and Foot Care Project published in PLOS Medicine demonstrate the impact of international interprofessional collaboration in reducing amputee rates. We will continue to explore.
Converging strands
This research points to some key themes:
- Embedding cultural change in clinical practice remains pivotal so that it becomes everyday practice;
- Connecting with the patient with empathy to accurately understand patient history, asking them what they comprehend and seeking to understand their patient centred concerns;
- Balancing holistic well-being with measurable patient-centred outcome goals;
- Increased facility specialisation with a specialist drawn to centres of excellence and increased propensity for patients and healthcare payers to seek value internationally;
- There are multiple stakeholders including the patient, health care system providers, payers, industry and technologists. We can advance only through a hacking mentality to open collaboration;
- Comprehending how we translate this knowledge and technology for our next generation of healthcare practitioners to bedside care.
Despite all the science & technology “longevity still comes down to diet, exercise, smoking cessation and consumption of alcohol”, says Dr. Joanne Ho, Grand River Hospital, Ontario.
Health Outcome Model resources
DOWNLOAD THE HEALTH OUTCOME MODELS WHITE PAPER
Here you can listen to an audio recording of our talk at the Hacking Health Waterloo cafe. It looks at the role that Medtech organisations can play through mentoring cultural change focussed on preventable healthcare acquired conditions.
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