Can Healthcare Deliver? Driving Value-Based Healthcare Transformation in Australia

Healthcare in Australia is at a crossroads. In the recent federal elections, the prevailing Labor Party pledged to expand the country’s public health system with subsidies to support “improved access to essential healthcare” [1]. To secure the system’s long-term financial viability and operational efficiency and ensure a future of improved health outcomes for all Australians, change is inevitable. Critical to this transformation is a seismic shift from quantity to quality.

Value-based healthcare (VBHC) refocuses care delivery to the quality of outcomes achieved, away from the volume of health services provided. This approach enhances efficiency and improves patient outcomes without increasing costs. The successful adoption of value-based healthcare depends on strong partnerships and collaboration among patients, policymakers, healthcare providers, and the MedTech industry. Ameera Abdullah's (Market Access Lead, Philips APAC) presentation at the Value-Based Health Care Congress in Melbourne, organised by the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA), amplified this critical need.

The Need for Change

In Australia, prevailing health care funding models, such as the traditional fee-for-service model, often incentivise volume over outcomes, impeding the adoption of value-based care. To facilitate the transition to value-based healthcare, it is essential to redesign care delivery and payment structures, moving away from fragmented, service-based reimbursement towards integrated systems focused on achieving optimal outcomes for patients at a reasonable cost.

At Philips, our approach to value-based healthcare centres on a model of co-develop with like-minded partners to ensure that the solutions developed align with the specific needs and challenges of both providers and patients. This approach leads to more effective and sustainable outcomes, as it incorporates the expertise and insights of all stakeholders from the outset (Laing, 2022) [2]. Our commitment to provide better healthcare for more people extends to strengthening our external network to monitor and support within the ecosystem and partnering with health systems on value-based healthcare projects to learn and establish real-world proof points.

In stroke management, Philips partners with the World Stroke Organization (WSO), Medtronic Neurovascular and Nicolab, forming  an ecosystem of partnerships to improve the end-to-end stroke pathway. This collaboration involves advocacy to raise awareness, education initiatives for healthcare professionals, and the implementation of innovative treatment pathways supported by Philips' and other industry leading stakeholders’ tools for rapid diagnosis, treatment planning, and post-stroke rehabilitation. Our goal is to reduce the critical time between stroke symptom onset and treatment using a new Direct-to-Angio Suite care model, ultimately improving clinical patient outcomes validated from the ongoing WE-TRUST randomised clinical trial.

Our collaboration with East Metropolitan Health Service (EMHS) in Western Australia exemplifies our  commitment. EMHS sought to improve patient-centred care and proactively detect the risk of patient deterioration, aligning with Philips' expertise in virtual hospital services and clinical command centres.  This collaboration has resulted in the deployment of a Clinical Command Centre solution, leveraging machine learning and predictive analytics. Data indicates this has led to a 26% reduction in patient mortality [3], a 30% reduction in length of stay [4], and has helped 15% of patients be discharged home faster. [5]

Transformation and Collaboration

In Australia, realising the potential of value-based healthcare and ensuring long-term sustainability requires transformation and collaboration across the entire ecosystem. All partners must advocate together for meaningful change. The call heard frequently during the Congress is to scale current VBHC pilot projects for country-wide implementation supported by long-term funding. To help facilitate this, providers should incorporate industry-collected data in their decision-making, prioritise patient-centred care, and participate in outcome measurement and reporting. Policymakers can support this transition by developing funding models that incentivise value and outcomes, promoting data sharing, and creating a supportive environment. The MedTech industry plays a vital role through collaborative co-design, providing integrated services enabled by health technology capabilities, and demonstrating health-economic value. By working together, we can shape the future of healthcare delivery in Australia, improving outcomes for all Australians.

References

[1] https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/is-the-federal-election-a-turning-point-for-health

[2] Laing, H. (2022). Value-Based Supply: Re-imagining Value from Within. Value-based Health and Care Academy, Swansea University.

[3] Lilly CM, et al. A Multi-center Study of ICU Telemedicine Reengineering of Adult Critical Care. CHEST. 2014; 145(3): 500-7.

[4] Lilly CM, et al. Hospital Mortality, Length of Stay and Preventable Complications Among Critically Ill Patients Before and After Tele-ICU Reengineering of Critical Care Processes. JAMA. June 2011; 305(21) 2175-83.[5] Impact of an Intensive Care Unit Telemedicine Program on a Rural Health Care System. Zawada, et al. Postgrad Med J, 2009; 121(3):160-170.

[5] Impact of an Intensive Care Unit Telemedicine Program on a Rural Health Care System. Zawada, et al. Postgrad Med J, 2009; 121(3):160-170.