Strategy, Innovation and Value-Driven Care: What Does It All Mean at AON?

Strategy, Innovation and Value-Driven Care
What Does It All Mean at AON?

Authors: Alti Rahman, MHA\MBA, CSSBB, CHIEF STRATEGY & INNOVATION OFFICER; Susan Sabo-Wagner, MSN, RN, OCN, NEA-BC, VICE PRESIDENT CLINICAL INNOVATION

Since its inception five years ago, AON has continued to build an extensive network of successful community oncology practices across the United States, and there is no sign of this growth slowing. The leadership and operations teams have successfully managed to make the progression of the network part of its day-to-day objectives, and the transition of new practices and providers has become a pristine combination of art and science.

As a next step, to synergize the actions AON has taken forward in growth, we must focus on the overall network strategy and the connected patient experience and movement to value-driven care. The constructs of “value to whom” are often narrow and focused on an external tie into payer goals around cost containment and associated quality metrics that do not always contribute toward patient experience. The movement to value is an orchestration of efforts around tying five “value constructs:” value to the physician, value to the patient, value to our staff, value to payers and value to our life science partners.

To be leaders, we aim to work closely with our payer partners and clinical teams to create an environment where our patients are the central focus. People know how other industries, such as retail, hospitality and travel, have become efficient and service oriented. This move toward “consumerism” is the goal that healthcare must also strive for as well. Patients have the power to choose where they receive their care, and they can do their own research before selecting something as important as an oncologist. This is where clinical innovation is crucial.

Clinical innovation is the intersection of multidisciplinary collaboration around evidence-based data, to drive prospective outcomes to continuously move the bar higher for patient experience and staff. Our goals include engaging with the community to impact the healthcare continuum equitably and responsibly.

We are working closely with each team within AON to understand current processes and procedures. Innovation often brings together people, processes and technology but not without first understanding the status of each. Technology is not always an answer, as it can often make processes or people slower or more frustrated. Adding more people to a team is not necessarily the best use of resources, as many times adjusting a process can solve inefficiencies. These are just some of the strategies our team will employ.

As the healthcare landscape changes and the way reimbursement is managed, the focus on fee-for-value will continually increase. AON has been successful thus far in many partnerships with various payers in multiple markets providing lower-cost, high-value care alternatives. Our objectives are to continue to set ourselves apart as a trusted option with CMS’s Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) and many other programs.