One of the biggest issues
facing the US
today is health care. From the White House, to the halls of Congress, to
kitchen tables across our nation, it's an issue that weighs heavily on the
minds of millions, particularly the 47 million Americans without health
insurance. Travel anywhere and you’ll find physician and patient satisfaction
levels decreasing as a result of misaligned incentives, lack of coordination of
care, medical liability concerns and inconsistent quality. Our health care
system is primed for reform.
With this in mind, the American College
of Cardiology’s (ACC) Quality First campaign aims to set a new standard for
health care reform centered on patient value and access to quality care.
In current discussions of
reform, much time is devoted to cost, which is an important component of any
reform. However, focusing simply on costs will not provide long-lasting
solutions to the problems in our nation’s health system. The focus should be on patient value –
providing the highest quality of care at the most effective cost.
Currently, providers are rewarded based on the amount of care they provide, not the quality of care. This must change. Health
care providers who consistently choose what works best at the most effective cost
should be rewarded. Such a system would encourage both cost savings and improved
quality.
Rewarding health care practitioners
for providing high quality, cost-effective care is one of many ways in which
quality can be improved. Other ways include: improved coordination across
sources and sites of care; a sense of partnership between providers and
patients; increased transparency; and a renewed focus on measurable health outcomes
to provide accountability within care. The implementation and utilization of
health information technology is also critical, and most would agree that there
is a need for access to quality care and some form of public/private financing.
Quality First supports the
following principles as fundamental to health care reform:
- A focus on
patient value – the highest quality of care at the most effective cost
- Payment
incentives for quality care
- Coordination
across sources and sites of care
- Health care
provider professionalism and partnership with patients
- Increased
transparency
- Measurable health
outcomes to provide accountability
- Access to quality
care
In striving to fulfill its
mission of helping cardiovascular professionals provide high quality care, the
ACC addresses many of these issues. The ACC is considered a leader in creating
clinical guidelines and criteria for the appropriate use of medical technology
that are grounded in data collection and professional consensus. It has
invested millions in its quality infrastructure, including the largest national
cardiovascular data registry. From this work, it is clear the ACC has much to
bring to the health care reform discussion.
Through Quality First, the
ACC is committed to taking quality care to the next level, by moving beyond
process to focusing on health outcomes. In addition, the College is working
with payers, Congress and other like-minded organizations on pilot programs,
legislation, strengthened quality measures and expedited guidelines.
With 43% of Medicare dollars
spent on heart disease – our country’s #1 killer – there is no time like the
present to begin transforming health care from the inside out.
For more information, visit
http://qualityfirst.acc.org, or contact QualityFirst@acc.org.
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