The VBHC is divided into two parts: the university-based (local) competition and the national competition. During the local competition, teams will receive and analyze a case study of a patient and their interaction with the healthcare system. Over the following 2 months, students must identify a value deficit from the case and come up with an innovative solution to mitigate and solve the issue. A video presentation of up to 20 minutes and the corresponding PowerPoint will be submitted to the judges who will decide the winning teams.

During the national competition, the winning teams from every participating school will then have 5-6 months to implement their solution from the previous competition or a new, adjusted solution into a real healthcare setting. A video presentation of up to 40 minutes and the corresponding PowerPoint will then be submitted to the judges to decide the winning team.

 

Value-based healthcare is a healthcare reimbursement model that focuses on delivering better quality of care to patients at a lower cost. Providers are reimbursed based on how well they improve patient outcomes, reduce the effects and incidence of chronic diseases, and help patients live healthier lives. This differs from the “fee-for service” model, where healthcare workers are reimbursed based on the number of services provided. As of 2020, the US spent nearly 20% of its GDP on healthcare – that is over 4 trillion dollars.  Part of this cost can be attributed to various wastes in healthcare, such as excess administrative costs, inefficiently delivered services, inflated prices, fraud, missed prevention opportunities, and unnecessary services.

Value deficits are common in the healthcare system we will one day work in. As future leaders in healthcare, we must play a key role in recognizing, addressing, and ameliorating these issues. By cultivating these skills early on in our medical education, we hope to be better prepared to serve our future patients and the healthcare system as a whole.

Value-Based Health Care Benefits graph that states the following information: Patients: Lower costs & better outcomes, Providers: Higher Patient satisfaction rates & better care efficiencies, Payers: stronger cost controsl & reduced risks, Suppliers: alignment of prices with patient outcomes and Society: reduced healthcare spending and better overall health (NEJM Catalyst) catalyst.nejm.org @Massachusetts Medical Society

 

  • Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology that exposes and solves problems to eliminate waste and improve efficiency in processes that deliver value to patients and members of the healthcare team.
  • It combines two methodologies: Lean and Six Sigma. Lean focuses on reducing waste by streamlining processes. Six Sigma focuses on using problem solving to prevent defects.
  • The Lean Six Sigma framework consists of five components: define, measure, analyze, improve, and control.
    • Define – define the problem
    • Measure – quantify the problem
    • Analyze – identify the cause of the problem
    • Improve – implement and verify the solution(s)
    • Control – maintain the solution(s)
  • More information about Lean Six Sigma and other tools will be included in the care packages provided to each team.
  • Patient- and family-centered care is an approach to healthcare delivery that emphasizes the importance of developing and maintaining a mutually beneficial partnership between healthcare providers, patients, and their families. All parties play a role in the decision-making process and participate in the patient's care. Much like the goal of a value-based healthcare approach, the PFCC approach leads to better healthcare outcomes, improved patient and family experience of care, better clinician and staff satisfaction, and better allocation of resources.
  • To learn more, visit https://www.ipfcc.org/about/pfcc.html
  • How does patient- and family-centered care tie into VBHC?
    • This competition is designed to challenge students to critically think of solutions to healthcare problems and implement these solutions in the real world. One of the main steps of this process includes engaging stakeholders which include the patients and their families. It is imperative that their voices be heard and their autonomy to be respected and upheld in the healthcare delivery process. This competition aims to introduce students to the many different facets of healthcare and to think about how these facets contribute to patient outcomes.
  • IHI Open School offers FREE, self-paced, online courses to students on topics including quality improvement, patient safety, leadership, and more! 
  • Sign up here to create an account and get immediate access to their online courses: https://my.ihi.org/portal/content/knowledge/freeos.aspx

Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Contact Us

MCG Value-Based Healthcare

vbcomcg@augusta.edu

value based healthcare

MCG Local Competition

MCG Local Competition

This is open to all health professional students (medical, dental, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, pharmacy, etc.) from Augusta University.

MCG Local Competition
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National Competition

The ultimate goal of the national competition is to implement your solution and demonstrate real-world outcomes that can be measured & published in the literature.

National Competition
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Past Winners & Projects

See some of the amazing and hard work of our previous winners!

Past Winners & Projects
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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions about the Competition.

FAQs

 

References:

GoLeanSixSigma.com. (2021, July 26). Lean six sigma process improvement. GoLeanSixSigma.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://goleansixsigma.com/what-is-lean-six-sigma/

National Health Expenditure Data (2021). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical

Teisberg, Elizabeth PhD; Wallace, Scott JD, MBA; O’Hara, Sarah MPH. Defining and Implementing Value-Based Health Care: A Strategic Framework. Academic Medicine: May 2020 - Volume 95 - Issue 5 - p 682-685

What Is Value-Based Healthcare? (2017). The New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst. https://doi.org/10.1056/CAT.17.0558