Are we chasing value-based healthcare while ignoring the elephant in the hospital corridors?

The health system is stuck in a volume-driven framework that rewards throughput over quality. It’s a model that no longer serves patients, clinicians, or taxpayers. Value-based healthcare represents an essential shift, emphasising health outcomes over service volume. Yet, reforms cannot succeed if we ignore the significant challenges impacting the nation’s public hospitals.

Under the current fee-for-service model, hospitals and providers are financially rewarded for how many services they deliver – not how effective these services are. If we are serious about reform, payment structures must be replaced with models that reward results, not mere activity.

Ameera Abdullah, Market Access Lead at Philips APAC, emphasised the urgency of this change at the Value-Based Health Care Congress led by Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA).

In stroke management, Philips has joined forces with the World Stroke Organisation, Medtronic Neurovascular and Nicolab to form a global ecosystem focused on improving outcomes. The new Direct-to-Angio Suite care model, with data from the WE-TRUST randomised clinical trial, is already showing promise in cutting the critical time between stroke symptom onset and treatment – time that could mean the difference between recovery and lifelong disability.

In Western Australia, Philips’ collaboration with East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) is another example of where innovation meets impact. Their Clinical Command Centre, powered by machine learning and predictive analytics, has reduced patient mortality by 26%, reduced hospital stays by 30%, and allowed 15% more patients to be discharged home sooner.

VBHC implementation has necessitated the development of outcome measures, including PREMs and PROMs, while clinician experiences remain under-measured. A recent systematic review identified key indicators of whether clinicians had a positive or negative experience of providing care. These indicators included their ability to input into decision-making, provide safe and high quality care, be respected and valued in interprofessional working and have psychological safety in their workplace.

Yet, the public hospital system is buckling under the weight of political indifference and bureaucratic inertia. Patients are now waiting nearly twice as long for essential surgeries compared to 20 years ago. Clinicians are burning out, demoralised by red tape and hostile work environments. A damning national survey from the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation (ASMOF) exposed a toxic hospital culture that undermines the very foundation of care delivery.

“Now is the time for the Government to embrace value-based health care as a unifying framework to deliver the reforms Australians have called for,” said AHHA CEO Kylie Woolcock. “By focusing on outcomes and equity, we can strengthen the foundations of Medicare and create a health system fit for the future.”

However, the success of any health reform ultimately depends on the people delivering care. An engaged, supported workforce is essential to implementing new models of care and delivering high-quality outcomes. Without this foundation, even the most well-designed reforms will struggle to take hold.

In reimagining healthcare across the entire patient journey, Health Industry Hub^TM is the only one-stop-hub uniting the diversity of the Pharma, MedTech, Diagnostics & Biotech sectors to inspire meaningful change.

The Health Industry Hub^TM content is copyright protected. Access is available under individual user licenses. Please click here to subscribe and visit T&Cs here.