H3IT: Home Healthcare, Hospice, and Information Technology Conference Nashville, TN, 2015

Achieving the Triple Aim of Health Care Reform:

Current Initiatives & Trends in the United States

Karen Utterback, MSN, RN

he Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) develop ed the Triple Aim, a framework that describes an ap-

proach to optimizing health system performance. The framework has been widely adopted by thought leaders,

policy makers, regulators, providers and payers as the United States strives to achieve health care reform. The

framework consists of three dimensions: 1) improving the patient experience of care (including quality and

satisfaction), 2) improving the health of populations, and 3) reducing the per capita cost of health care. This session will

explore where we are trying to go, how we expect to get there and how long we expect this journey of heath care reform to take.

Speciﬁcally, we will examine the three dimensions of the Triple Aim by describing the value of improving the patient ex-

perience, the role of population-based health care in improving the overall health of our communities and country and the

importance of lowering per capita costs. We will then pivot and take a look at speciﬁc examples that are currently happening

on multiple fronts. These will include initiatives driven by health policy and regulation, examples of social and environmen-

tal awareness and incentives and public/private collaboratives. Each initiative on its own is designed to support and create

improvement in our healthcare delivery and payment systems. Each initiative also includes a prescribed set of measures, an

expectation for data collection and an analysis to determine their impact and contribution to success. When taken collectively

these initiatives create clear and directionally positive momentum for change. Along with this change, comes opportunity

for Home Healthcare and Hospice organizations to contribute to that success.

Lastly, we will discuss the expected time lines and levels of conﬁdence that are designed to assist us in achieving meaningful

change. Knowing and understanding these timelines will help the audience recognize the collective impact and convergence

of these initiatives designed to support the desired future state of health and health care in the United States.

McKesson – Extended Care Solutions, VP Strategy and Business Development