As costs for medical services continue to rise, many healthcare organizations are reassessing how care is delivered and paid for. The industry is trending away from fee-for-service models, in which providers are reimbursed based on the volume of services delivered, toward value-based care, which ties payment to patient outcomes, quality measures and cost efficiency.
This transition will impact how organizations design care delivery, manage risk, use data and align incentives across clinical and operational teams, and healthcare leaders are making strategic changes to prepare for this shift. Below, members of Forbes Business Council each share one way they are adapting their businesses for value-based care and why that approach matters.
1. Adopt An Outcomes-Driven Mindset
The shift to value-based care requires more than new contracts; it demands a new mindset. By tying payment to performance, at-risk models force alignment, foster trust and inspire continuous improvement to ensure every dollar spent drives better health outcomes. – Kempton Presley, AdhereHealth
2. Identify Long-Term Consumer Value
Having worked for healthcare providers and drafted national legislation, I’ve learned that the key is to identify consumers’ long-term needs and the best patterns for meeting them. The transactional nature of the fee-for-service system generates wasted time, services and payments. With value-based care, you can determine where long-term value best serves consumers and then enable providers to structure services and payments to deliver that value. – Jerry Cahn, Age Brilliantly
3. Ensure Reliable Access To Care
We’re preparing by recognizing that care outcomes start when a patient is picked up, not at arrival. Reliable transportation and real-time visibility for underserved populations reduces no-shows. Value-based care fails without access—and missed appointments mean unmanaged chronic conditions, worse outcomes and higher costs. You can’t improve what patients can’t reach. – Jessica Willoughby, Kinetik
4. Pilot Value-Based Care Models
We’re piloting value-based care now through clear care paths, risk tiers and social needs screening with warm handoffs. We track mood, sleep, function and avoidable emergency visits. We also reward remission and engagement. This aligns payment with results, advancing prevention, whole-person care and lower costs. We’re training clinicians in measurement-based care and using simple dashboards to act fast. – Dr. Ritu Goel, MindClaire
5. Center Care On Patient Relationships
We’re preparing by centering care on connection. Value-based models work when providers focus on relationships, not transactions. When patients feel heard and supported, outcomes naturally follow. It’s a shift from treating illness to cultivating trust, and that’s the true value in healthcare. – Shahrzad Jalali, Dr Jalali & Associates
6. View Nurses As Strategic Partners
As a critical voice at the bedside, nurses offer a perspective on patient care no other clinician possesses. We help healthcare organizations view these professionals as strategic assets. Nurses have a unique perspective on prioritizing safety and optimizing outcomes. A nurse-first approach to functions like triage and transfer is key to aligning with value-based care models. – Cheryl Dalton-Norman, Conduit Health Partners
7. Invest In Outcomes Tracking
We’re preparing for value-based care by investing in outcomes tracking and automation. These are tools that help providers measure and report quality metrics, not just volume. This shift is key to aligning incentives around patient outcomes, reducing waste and ensuring long-term sustainability in healthcare. – Asaad Hakeem, SARC MedIQ Inc.
8. Align Payers And Providers
We are creating programs that bridge the gap between payers and providers. Align incentives around improving patient outcomes and making healthcare more affordable for all. With these mutually beneficial goals in mind, we can make a strategic shift to value-based care that makes a positive impact on the overall healthcare industry. – Andrew Pecora, Outcomes Matter Innovations
9. Enable On-Demand Care Through Technology
We’re preparing for value-based care with real-time measurement and treatment through convenient, on-demand consumer technology. Using AI and connected remote diagnostic and therapeutic devices, we’re focused on delivering faster, more precise care with no wait time or disruption. This aligns patients, providers and payers around measurable, lasting outcomes for everyone. – Eugene Zabolotsky, Health Helper
10. Make Value-Based Care Scalable
We’re aligning care, capital and capability to make value-based care scalable. Operationally, we redesign systems through data, technology and clinical excellence to drive measurable outcomes. As investors, we fund models that improve stats, lower medical costs and turn quality into growth. The shift from fee-for-service to value is the future of responsible, high-performing healthcare. – Kat Marie Alvarez, KATALYST & Co.
11. Measure Value Through Patient Experience
We’re redesigning care around outcomes, not volume. That means engaging teams early, reducing variation and focusing on what matters most to patients—speed to diagnosis, safety and coordinated care. When we measure value through the patient’s experience and outcomes, not the number of procedures, the system becomes more human and more sustainable. – Paula Ferrada, Inova Healthcare System
12. Ensure Data Is Meaningful And Actionable
One of the biggest shifts we’ve made to prepare for value-based care is focusing on making data meaningful and actionable for everyone across the organization. The real differentiator is connecting it in ways that show what’s driving outcomes, what’s driving costs and how those two are linked in real time. – Mel van Londen, Develop Health