Value-based care is a framework for restructuring healthcare systems with the overarching goal of value for patients, with value defined as health outcomes per unit of costs. In value-based care, healthcare providers are held accountable for improving patient outcomes while also giving them flexibility to deliver the right care at the right time. The key features of value-based care include:

• Tying payments to results: Value-based care ties the amount healthcare providers earn for their services to the results they deliver for their patients, such as the quality, equity, and cost of care.

• Patient outcomes: Value-based care models center on patient outcomes and how well healthcare providers can improve quality of care based on data.

• Financial incentives: Through financial incentives and other methods, value-based care programs aim to hold providers more accountable for improving patient outcomes while also giving them greater flexibility to deliver the right care at the right time.

Value-based care is still a new concept for most healthcare providers, and many are still trying to implement the appropriate systems into their workflow. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken a leading role in testing several voluntary and mandatory programs with hospitals, physician groups, health plans, and other healthcare entities. Studies of value-based care programs so far suggest that they can reduce costs and improve quality of care, although results have often been mixed and impact modest. While value-based care can be an answer to some of what ails American healthcare, there must be something somewhat realistic at its foundation.