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Vineet-Arora

Dr. Vineet Arora is a board certified internist and a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Board of Directors and the Director of Education Initiatives at Costs of Care. Dr. Arora is an academic hospitalist, Assistant Dean of Scholarship & Discovery, and Director of Graduate Medical Education Clinical Learning Environment and Innovation at the University of Chicago. Through the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, National Institutes of Health and ABIM Foundation funding, she has developed and evaluated novel interventions that combine systems change with adult learning theory to improve care and learning in teaching hospitals.

Yesterday, I asked a group of medical students about experiences on their internal medicine clerkship with low value care.  Despite the fact that they had only been on their rotation for a few weeks, there were so many examples ranging from the mundane routine labs to long wait times for patients to get admitted or worked up.  In all these examples, it was clear that while there are 2 major ways for clinicians to improve value- improve quality or reduce cost, clinicians are especially positioned well to improve quality.  One particular tool that was very helpful to learn about how to reduce waste and improve quality was the Choosing Wisely Lists, one of the flagship initiatives of the ABIM Foundation. 

This is also a touchpoint where the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) comes in.  A central tenet of ABIM’s mission is to “enhance the quality of health care,” by recognizing internal medicine physicians for demonstrating their expertise and their dedication to providing excellent patient care.  In other words, high-value health care isn’t a one-time achievement, but something that physicians must continually practice and reinforce through their commitment to lifelong learning and teaching.

It’s also important to recognize that high value healthcare is not going to be solved from a “top down” approach only.  Tackling overuse requires partnering with other healthcare professionals and patients to promote innovations that can not only translate into behavior change, but also change the culture of the work environment.  

That’s why I’m proud to tell you about a special opportunity: The ABIM Foundation and Costs of Care have partnered to present the Costs of Care Value Challenge. Since its inception in 2013, the Value Challenge has been an open call for innovative ideas and projects for teaching and implementing high-value care among collaborative teams of clinicians, educators, quality improvement specialists and health system administrators. This year, we’ve added two new awards to recognize a chief executive officer and an innovative practitioner who have advanced value-based care.

Health care professionals from any discipline and level of training can participate. You are invited to submit short abstracts that either describe a project you have already implemented or an idea for a project you believe could have promise in delivering better care at a lower cost. Learn about previous winners and how to submit your entry.

Teaching Value Innovator Award – will recognize clinicians who have implemented, or plan to implement, innovative ideas and projects that improve the clinical learning environment in the area of low value care.

Creating Value Innovator Award – will recognize teams of clinicians who have implemented, or plan to implement, innovative ideas and projects that improve value on the front lines of health care.

NEW! The Humana Award for Innovation in Value-based Care – will be given to a health care professional that improves or informs the practice of value-based care

NEW! The Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Health Care CEO – will be awarded to a CEO of a hospital or health care system who has demonstrated courageous and ethical leadership addressing the twin issues of affordability and quality of health care in their community. 

*Winners of the Teaching Value Innovator Award, Creating Value Innovator Award, and the Humana Award for Innovation in Value-based Care will be recognized at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) National Forum in December 2018 in Orlando, Florida. 

*Winner of The Steven Schroeder Award for Outstanding Health Care CEO will be recognized at The Leapfrog Group Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner on December 4, 2018 in Washington, D.C.