Maharshi Patel, MBA

The US healthcare system remains one of the most inefficient healthcare systems in the world. The Bloomberg Health-Care Efficiency Index ranked the United States 54th among 56 countries in 2018, tied with Azerbaijan and only ahead of Bulgaria. This occurs even though the United States spends $10,244 per capita annually on healthcare, a figure representing 17% of the gross domestic product.

We learned that a true patient-centered approach would be a combination of objective, numerical, centripetal measures defined in the Oncology Care Model (OCM) and subjective centrifugal emotions, aspirations, and expectations. We created smart teams, enabling an efficient transition from volume to value. These exercises were similar to building a higher pyramid on top of what we already achieved during our journey toward Patient-Centered Speciality Practice (PCSP) accreditation by the the National Committee for Quality Assurance in 2015. Although the transition to being a PCSP was speciality agnostic and truly patient centric, the OCM gave us a blueprint that was specific to the needs of PCCC.

One possible way to reduce overall cost, improve patient experience, and improve outcomes in cancer care is to shift the focus of healthcare delivery away from volume and toward value. Patient-centered cancer care holds the promise of addressing these issues.