Value-based health care for inflammatory bowel diseases

Increasing healthcare costs worldwide put the current healthcare systems under pressure. Although many efforts have aimed to contain costs in medicine, only a few have achieved substantial changes. Inflammatory bowel diseases rank among the most costly of chronic diseases, and physicians nowadays are increasingly engaged in health economics discussions. Value-based health care [VBHC] has gained a lot of attention recently, and is thought to be the way forward to contain costs while maintaining quality. The key concept behind VBHC is to improve achieved outcomes per encountered costs, and evaluate performance accordingly. Four main components need to be in place for the system to be effective: [1] accurate measurement of health outcomes and costs; [2] reporting of these outcomes and benchmarking against other providers; [3] identification of areas in need of improvement based on these data and adjusting the care delivery processes accordingly; and [4] rewarding high-performing participants. In this article we will explore the key components of VBHC, we will review available evidence focussing on inflammatory bowel diseases, and we will present our own experience as a guide for other providers.