The true meaning of value-based care

These days, the term “value-based care” has become a much-used expression in healthcare. However, every organization has a slightly different definition of “value” — and the word itself can be used in several different ways.

According to an article from the American College of Surgeons (ACS), value-based healthcare is about putting the patient at the center of everything. Every patient wants better outcomes at an affordable price — a condition that is the very definition of value. It involves both managing the cost of the service and keeping a high standard of values while doing so.

At HCA Florida Healthcare, we consider the idea of value-based healthcare to be the only way to deliver what our patients want and need.

A patient-centered healthcare philosophy

“Putting the patient at the center” is about inclusion, compassion and respect.

It’s never okay to discriminate against a patient based on gender, race, culture, religion, disability, sexual orientation or identity or belief system. Most healthcare organizations believe this; yet, when it comes to putting words into action, some fall short. Here are some examples of ways in which a healthcare worker might make an assumption about a patient:

• Because the person appears to be female, they label them as “female,” not taking any other gender identities into consideration.
• Because a patient is in a wheelchair and someone is pushing that wheelchair, the provider assumes that person is their life partner or a family member.
• Because a person has a specific religious background, the provider automatically believes they will have objections to certain types of healthcare.

We ask each of our colleagues at HCA Florida Healthcare to respect the intrinsic worth of each individual. And when they unwittingly make a mistake, they’ll strive to do better and not make the same mistake again.

In the same way that healthcare providers are expected to treat patients as individuals with important needs, we also ask them to care for each other. A work environment — and, specifically, a healthcare environment — should be a safe place in which each individual feels like they can be themselves. We trust our colleagues as valuable members of our healthcare team and pledge to treat one another with loyalty, respect and dignity.

Respect breeds respect. We have found that when we treat our patients and colleagues with compassion and kindness, the people who receive care from us will return those feelings in kind. We are all striving for the same goal: quality healthcare in a caring environment.

HCA Florida Healthcare receives awards for its care

Several of our facilities have received special recognition for the value-based care that they deliver each and every day to their patients.

Press Ganey Human Experience Awards

Press Ganey, a leader in human experience (HX) improvement, announced recipients of the Press Ganey Human Experience Awards in January 2023, recognizing healthcare organizations across the United States committed to excellence in experience for their patients, workforce and the communities they serve. Human Experience Award recipients included nine HCA Florida hospitals.

Guardian of Excellence Award

The Guardian of Excellence Award^® honors organizations that perform in the top 5% of healthcare organizations for patient experience, employee engagement, physician engagement or clinical quality performance in one year. This year, six HCA Florida facilities were named Guardian of Excellence Award® recipients for patient experience: 

HCA Florida Lake City Hospital (outpatient oncology) in Lake City, Florida 

HCA Florida Kendall Hospital (inpatient behavioral health) in Miami, Florida 

HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital (inpatient behavioral health) in Fort Pierce, Florida 

HCA Florida Mercy Hospital (outpatient oncology) in Miami, Florida 

HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital (inpatient behavioral health) in Sarasota, Florida 

HCA Florida University Hospital (emergency department) in Davie, Florida 

HX Pinnacle of Excellence Award

The HX Pinnacle of Excellence Award from Press Ganey recognizes healthcare organizations who have maintained consistently high levels of performance for three years, with the highest-performing organizations winning in each category. 

This year, three HCA Florida facilities were named HX Pinnacle of Excellence Award recipients: 

HCA Florida Largo Hospital (inpatient behavioral health) in Largo, Florida 

HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital (inpatient behavioral health) in Fort Pierce, Florida 

St Lucie Surgery Center (outpatient and ambulatory surgery CAHPS) in Port St. Lucie, Florida

Honesty in the care we provide

In addition to having respect for patients and each other as individuals, honesty is an important cornerstone in achieving value-based care.

When patients come to a healthcare facility, they are putting their lives in their provider’s hands. They need to trust that their doctors, nurses, therapists and others who provide diagnostic and interventional care are truly working with their best interests in mind. Without trust between the patient and provider, there can never be the kind of relationship that leads to good outcomes.

The patient needs to know the diagnosis, no matter how bad it is. If the patient doesn’t need the surgical procedure they think they want, the provider has a responsibility to tell them. When a patient is making choices that will impact their future health, a healthcare worker should be honest and upfront about the consequences they see unfolding in front of them.

Honesty also continues in how we live our lives, both inside and outside the hospital. In many cases, the colleagues at our hospitals are also members of their communities. They may see patients and other colleagues at the grocery store, in their house of worship or even just walking down the street. They strive to live their lives with honesty and integrity.

Taking value-based care to heart

At HCA Florida Healthcare, “value-based care” is not just a buzzword — it reflects our entire philosophy about how we do our daily work. We believe that every job worth doing is worth doing well, and we provide the training to enable each of our colleagues to live by that philosophy.

Is it sometimes difficult to incorporate value-based care into everything we do — especially across multiple institutions? Certainly. But it’s the core of our system. It’s clearly spelled out in our mission and values.