One in three people in Wisconsin received health care services that did not improve their outcome, used scarce health care workforce resources, contributed to higher costs, and potentially put them at greater risk for harm, according to the report, “Achieving Health Care Value in Wisconsin: A Focus on Low Value Care.”
Health care value is commonly defined as the quality of care received compared to the price that was paid for the service. The WHIO report is based on 48 measures of common treatments, tests, and procedures that research has determined do not improve patient outcomes called low value care.
The WHIO’s Chief Executive Officer Dana Richardson said the purpose of the report is to raise awareness of low value care and to encourage all health care stakeholders to work together to reduce the utilization of low value care services in Wisconsin. “Deciding which services patients receive is based on research, clinical practice guidelines, and the clinician’s experience. While we have known for several years that the 48 low value care services included in this report do not improve patient outcomes, we now have the ability to measure and report on these services,” according to Richardson. “If we reduced low value care services, we would have more resources available to provide services that benefit patients and higher value health care.”
According to the report, low value care is not evenly distributed. For example, people with Medicare insurance received significantly more low value care at a much higher cost per person than people with commercial or Medicaid insurance. The report also found that the amount of low value care services provided by Wisconsin’s health care organizations varies, with the cost of low value care ranging from $100 to $1,700 per person among health care organizations, with the majority falling between $150 – $250 per person.
The report, “Achieving Health Care Value in Wisconsin: A Focus on Low Value Care” is here.