Insight Report Value in Healthcare

The report addresses the 'value problem' in the $8 trillion global healthcare sector, where costs rise faster than GDP and outcomes vary widely. It proposes a transition to value-based healthcare, defined as improving the ratio of health outcomes to costs for specific population segments. To overcome barriers such as fragmented care, misaligned incentives, and lack of data standards, the report introduces a six-step methodology for local transformation, a five-part agenda for global health-informatics standardization—including a 'digital health bill of rights'—and the launch of the Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare to coordinate these efforts.

• The global healthcare sector faces a significant value problem characterized by costs rising at approximately double the rate of GDP growth in most developed countries, with no clear causal link between investment and health outcomes.
• Value-based healthcare is defined as achieving better health outcomes for defined population segments at a given cost, with the objective of continuously improving the outcomes-to-costs ratio through targeted clinical interventions.
• Significant barriers to value-based transformation include the lack of global health informatics standards, the fragmentation of care caused by increased specialization, and misaligned incentives that create a collective action problem among stakeholders.
• Successful health system transformation requires both 'top-down' initiatives to align on goals and 'bottom-up' local experimentation to test visions and build trust among stakeholders.
• The report proposes a six-step methodology for local transformation: identifying a value problem for a population segment, mobilizing stakeholders, understanding root causes, designing solutions, implementing a work plan, and scaling up findings.
• Effective multistakeholder collaboration depends on creating an 'authorizing environment' through a network of champions and a 'holding environment' to manage creative tension and maintain commitment over time.
• A proposed 'digital health bill of rights' would establish foundational principles for patient access to health data in standardized formats and govern the use of that data in research and clinical decisions.
• The roadmap for global health-informatics standardization consists of five parts: defining person-centric principles, mapping the standardization landscape, creating governance for endorsement, developing value-based use-cases, and providing implementation guidelines.
• The Global Coalition for Value in Healthcare is established as a public-private platform to provide technical assistance for local initiatives, develop global enablers, document best practices, and build a global community of practice.
• Case studies demonstrate the impact of value-based models: the Santeon network in the Netherlands reduced breast cancer lumpectomy reoperations by 17% across seven hospitals, and the Iora Health model in the US saw a 50% decrease in hospitalizations.

APA

World Economic Forum (2018). Insight Report Value in Healthcare. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Value_in_Healthcare_report_2018.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Insight Report Value in Healthcare. 2018. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Value_in_Healthcare_report_2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Insight Report Value in Healthcare |date=December 2018 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Value_in_Healthcare_report_2018.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2018insight, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Insight Report Value in Healthcare}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Value_in_Healthcare_report_2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }