Robert T. Yokl

Almost every hospital, system, or IDN has value analysis teams, but how productive (i.e., the state of producing savings, quality, or safety  improvements) are they? It’s been our  experience that most teams aren’t as productive as they could be for the following three reasons:

1. No clear goals & objectives: Universally, we would guess that only 30%-to 40% of the healthcare value analysis programs nationwide have annual specific and measurable savings, quality, and safety goals and objectives for their value analysis teams. We have observed that without specific savings, quality, and safety  targets, VA teams tend to underperform.

2. No one holds them accountable: Since it is very easy to look and act busy, only by careful measurement can you determine if your VA team members and teams are truly productive.  

3. No peer pressure to do better: Unless you make your value analysis program a competitive game with VA team members and their teams competing against one another, your results will be meager and not as much fun. 

Now that I have provided some context on value analysis productivity, the answer to the question I posed in my headline, “Why is Productivity for Your VA Teams Vital to Your Long Term Success?” is that it all depends on the success criteria that you want to measure. Compare the criteria outlined above to the VA tools in the marketplace to see if there is a match.  Given the growing dynamics and data enrichment of your value analysis program, more than likely a spreadsheet won’t be able to handle the next generation of tracking for you.