Officials with the National Health Council (NHC) recently published a Patient-Center Value Model Rubric to better incorporate patients’ perspectives in the ongoing debate about the value of health care interventions and treatments.
It is important for health care officials to define as well as understand the value of interventions and treatments. This understanding and its definitions have recently become a priority across the nation.
Value models, also called frameworks, are one of the latest methods that can be used to help stakeholders in the health care industry determine whether new treatments are valuable to patients.
Despite this, these value models have not engaged patient advocacy organizations nor even patients. It is important to receive patient feedback to guarantee that these models are accurate.
“To have true utility, value models must incorporate these other value-influencing factors, and the only way to achieve this is by having robust processes in place to incorporate the patient voice,” according to the NHC rubric. “Such action is particularly important if physicians and payers look to value models to inform decisions that can affect the treatment options available to a patient.”
Currently, these models are specific to payers and physicians as they determine the value of various treatments. This being said, it is still important for patients and their perspectives to be considered, as these can vary from the view of payers and physicians. Joining these world views together could improve the overall cost and outcome, which would align with the patients’ personal goals.
