Evaluating Value Series.

Abstract

With rising healthcare expenditures and unexplained variations in the processes and outcomes of care, there is increasing emphasis on improving the value of health care. Value can mean different things to different people but is generally defined by the formula of quality over costs.1 Higher value care can be achieved through better patient experience or outcomes at similar or lower total cost. Payors have pushed for high-value care through value-based purchasing programs, accountable care organizations, and bundled payments among others.2 Providers, hospitals, and health systems are reconfiguring care processes to more efficiently and effectively deliver high-value care through better quality and lower costs. Some organizations are further along on this journey, but much work remains. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes would like to help in this journey toward higher value care. We wish to engage the scientific and healthcare delivery community by starting a new, ongoing series, entitled Evaluating Value that will highlight articles that focus on value in cardiovascular medicine. On its surface, who could argue with promoting high-value care? However, the nuances of how to achieve this remain challenging, which highlights the need for further research and the Evaluating Value series. For example, champions of high-value …