By Jenna Hughes
How a newly formed organization assists providers in navigating the shift to value-based care.
Value-based care (VBC) is a very highly sought after goal for health systems today, as many providers have shifted focus to ensuring improved patient outcomes as opposed to delivering volume of healthcare services.
By aligning incentives and payment, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), value-based care models promote better coordination among healthcare professionals, reduce the need for unnecessary healthcare services, lower the risk of medical errors and expand access to care.
As the industry transitions to value-based patient care, healthcare organizations are increasingly seeking clarity as to what exactly it means to operationalize these models and deliver quality, patient-first care.
The American Academy of Value-Based Care (AAVBC), a clinician-led nonprofit organization, provides a central resource for evidence-based practices in the transition to value-based care by advancing patient-centered and value-oriented care.
“AAVBC was specifically created to address gaps in early and accurate diagnosis, appropriate utilization of healthcare services and consistent performance on quality measures,” said Eric Haas, MD, Chief Medical Officer, AAVBC.
Until the formation of AAVBC, providers lacked an authoritative source for best practices, treatment plans and guidelines regarding clinical care and documentation for VBC. Now, through comprehensive educational resources, clinical pathways and vendor information, the organization helps providers navigate the shift from traditional fee-for-service to patient-centered models of care.
Origins of value-based care
In the early 2000s, research increasingly showed that fee-for service reimbursement models were contributing to rising healthcare costs and inconsistent quality outcomes for providers and healthcare organizations.
As a result, the National Academy of Medicine called for a “STEEP” approach to healthcare: safe, timely, efficient, equitable, patient-centered care – which ultimately became the framework for today’s VBC.
Value-based care models are now a significant component of both public and private payer structures across the healthcare industry.
AAVBC defines value-based care as a healthcare model rewarding providers based on patient outcomes, quality of care and cost efficiency rather than volume of services delivered.
“This definition directly informs AAVBC’s strategy – our quick-reference guidelines, tools and educational resources are designed to help physicians and healthcare organizations succeed in outcome-driven payment models by delivering higher-quality, more efficient care,” said Dr. Haas.
Value-based care places a growing emphasis on interoperability, risk adjustment and health equity – AAVBC’s framework for high-value healthcare today includes the right care, to the right patient, at the right time, in the right setting, for the right reasons.
Evidence-focused, quality patient care
A value-based care approach, according to AAVBC, prioritizes adherence to evidence-based guidelines, understanding patient goals, promoting cost-effectiveness, improving population health, enhancing patient experiences and providing equitable access to care.
“Many organizations struggle to operationalize these concepts – including consistent performance on quality measures such as Stars and HEDIS – in day-to-day care delivery, and AAVBC focuses on turning complex requirements into clear, usable guidance for clinicians and care teams,” said Dr. Haas.
AAVBC’s STAR Measures Overview (governing quality performance for more than 33 million Medicare Advantage beneficiaries) provides a concise, evidence-informed framework to help organizations understand Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements, improve quality scores and strengthen performance across value-based programs. HEDIS is also a widely used performance improvement tool, and nearly 235 million people are enrolled in health plans that report HEDIS results.
AAVBC additionally launched the nation’s first centralized hub for value-based care education in early 2026 as a resource for providers and other key healthcare groups to be able to access a wide range of resources designed to improve care quality.
“The AAVBC platform serves as a single source of truth for curated diagnostics, care pathways and operational tools that support value-based care delivery,” said Dr. Haas.
The educational platform provides physicians with a clear understanding of value-based care principles, practices and regulatory standards by offering access to resources such as evidence syntheses, guidelines on STAR Measures, coding practices and utilization benchmarks as well as independent vendor rankings and price guides to clarify true cost and quality of digital health tools.
“By centralizing high-quality, evidence-based resources in one place, the platform enables clinicians and organizations to move from theory to execution more efficiently and consistently,” said Dr. Haas.
A centralized resource
Early engagement from providers and value-based care organizations has validated a need in the healthcare industry for a centralized resource and educational material informing value-based care processes.
“While AAVBC is still early in its growth, feedback consistently highlights the value of having clear, evidence-based guidance that bridges clinical care, documentation and quality performance – areas that are often fragmented today,” said Dr. Haas.
Guidance from healthcare organizations in the platform’s early stages is a critical part of AAVBC improving on its educational resources, strategy and offerings.
“Frontline clinician feedback is a core part of AAVBC’s development process,” said Dr. Haas. “Our platform allows users to directly submit feedback, which we use to improve our guidelines, tools and educational content. This ensures our resources remain practical, relevant and grounded in real-world clinical experiences.”
As the organization continues to grow, AAVBC aims to drive and assist in the system-wide adoption of value-based care over the next three to five years by simplifying complex requirements for providers, health plans and healthcare organizations.
“Our key priorities include increasing transparency in the digital health ecosystem through independent vendor rankings and pricing guides, expanding CME offerings as well as developing educational resources for resident physicians and medical students,” said Dr. Haas. “Success going forward will be measured by adoption of our tools, earlier diagnosis of diseases, increased use of preventive services and measurable reductions in avoidable utilization and total cost of care.”
The future of value-based patient care
AAVBC was formed to address the ongoing gaps in value-based care, such as early and accurate diagnosis and appropriate utilization of healthcare services to emphasize early prevention, intervention and avoidance of unnecessary downstream utilization; which includes helping providers overcome common obstacles to adopting value-based care.
One of the most common barriers is the shift from a reactive, fee-for-service care model to an outcomes-based approach that prioritizes prevention and long-term health.
“This transition requires new workflows, new metrics and a deeper understanding of how early intervention and appropriate utilization improve both outcomes and cost performance,” said Dr. Haas. “AAVBC helps organizations overcome these challenges by providing clear guidance, practical tools, and education that make preventive, value-based care operationally achievable.”
Making value-based care achievable requires a focus on data analytics, care coordination and empowering patients with tools to keep improving.
The increasing role of data, technology and analytics is also addressing some of these challenges by rapidly promoting the adoption of value-based care. Technology is foundational to advancing value-based care, said Dr. Haas, because it enables prevention on a larger scale.
“Technological advancements and tools allow organizations to identify high-risk patient populations early, track chronic conditions proactively and deploy targeted interventions before health issues escalate,” said Dr. Haas. “When used effectively, analytics shift care from reactive treatment to proactive, evidence-based population health management that improves outcomes and lowers costs.”
Aligning financial incentives with patient outcomes is one of the most powerful levers for driving meaningful, lasting adoption of value-based care going forward, says Dr. Haas. AAVBC promotes the acceleration of the shift to value-based care through health insurers and government payers transitioning from fee-for-service reimbursement to compensation models that reward outcomes and quality.
“Several converging trends give us confidence in the future of value-based care in the U.S., including advances in healthcare technology and analytics, a growing emphasis on preventive care and patient engagement, continued payment reform focused on outcomes and quality as well as the expansion of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Management Service Organizations (MSOs) that improve care coordination and reduce fragmentation,” said Dr. Haas. “With chronic disease driving the majority of healthcare costs, prevention is no longer optional – it is essential to the sustainability of the healthcare system.”
What is value-based care?
Value-based care (VBC) is a healthcare delivery structure where providers are graded and reimbursed for safe, efficient, high-quality care rather than the volume and complexity of services performed. A value-based approach prioritizes:
- Adherence to evidence-based guidelines
- Understanding patient goals
- Promoting cost-effectiveness
- Improving population health
- Enhancing patient experiences
- Providing equitable access to care
Source: www.aavbc.org