Talking Value: A Taxonomy on Value-Based Healthcare

A report by the European Alliance for Value in Health, to describe terms related to value-based healthcare (VBHC).

VBHC has evolved significantly since its conception. Alongside this, the use of language and terms related to VBHC has also evolved. However, in practice, there is considerable diversity in the usage of these terms and the underlying meanings that they intend to convey. This presents challenge when engaging different stakeholders. For the Alliance to achieve our Vision and Mission, clear communication is needed between a range of stakeholders; from patient groups, care givers and healthcare practitioners, to policy-makers, payers, research groups and beyond. Even if our native tongue differs, we need to speak the same language of VBHC.

This taxonomy initiative forms the first step in the road towards a common language. It aims to sharpen the debate on VBHC, by ensuring stakeholders have a common understanding of related terms, and that these terms are used consistently across different stakeholder groups. This taxonomy includes terms which are commonly-used in VBHC, and are either well-defined in the literature (27 terms) or not well-defined in the literature and/or have multiple definitions in use (15 terms). To develop and refine descriptions for the latter, an Adapted Delphi methodology was employed, in collaboration with the Partners of the Alliance, their members, Affiliated Organisations and additional VBHC experts.

Overall, this VBHC Taxonomy initiative proved to be more than just a starting point. It represents a milestone towards creating a common language, and a common goal; namely the transformation of healthcare to be more value-based. For the Alliance, this has sparked a lively discussion on our role and the opportunity we have to be a part of this transformation. We hope to keep the debate alive, and engage in further collaboration with different stakeholders in future, and move towards our vision of a Europe where health systems are value-based, sustainable and people-centred.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all Partners, Affiliated Organisations, related member organisations and VBHC Experts which have been involved in the development of the VBHC taxonomy. In particular, the initiative leads, Jacqueline Bowman-Busato (EASO) and Ioanna Charalampopoulou (COCIR), and the co-chairs of the Alliance, Thomas Allvin (EFPIA) and George Valiotis (EHMA).

Click here for the full report

The appendices can be found here

Authors: Rebecca Steele, Casper Paardekooper, Sander Steenhuis, Lieke Boonen