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Ophthalmology on the road to value-based care
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CHICAGO – Transitioning from a volume-based system to a value-based one is the future of medicine in this country, and ophthalmology is a specialty best-suited to lead that charge, according to a speaker here.
“The road to the future for our profession has never been more promising or challenging. The promise lies in the advent of incredible new therapies and technologies to protect sight and the challenge is in how society will pay for them,” American Academy of Ophthalmology president-elect George A. Williams, MD, said during the opening ceremony of the AAO annual meeting.
The United States spent approximately $3.5 trillion on health care in 2017, with nearly $1 trillion wasted due to low value of care and services or overtreatment, he said. In order to stop that trend, a transformation in how value is determined is needed.
“Accurate cost attribution has its own issues, but we must be certain to measure quality in terms of the impact our services have on the individual’s quality of life,” Williams said. “Fortunately, no specialty in medicine is better positioned than ophthalmology to demonstrate the remarkable impact our services have on patients’ lives.”
Using patient-centered data, specifically data such as in the IRIS registry, allows ophthalmology specialists to demonstrate that value.
The largest clinical database in the world, IRIS has allowed the AAO to become a research organization, according to Williams, allowing study of demographics, disease progression and clinical outcomes. It also has the ability to assist in establishing “meaningful performance metrics” to improve patient outcomes and facilitate research on population health issues and provide performance data on drugs and devices, he said.
“Clearly we have chosen the road to demonstrate the value of ophthalmic care,” Williams said. “It will not be straight, it will not be easy, but we will know where we are going.” – by Rebecca L. Forand
Reference: Williams G. Academy president-elect’s address. Presented at: AAO annual meeting; Oct. 28-31, 2018; Chicago.
Disclosure: Williams reports no relevant financial disclosures.