Revolutionizing Canadian Healthcare: Eva Villalba’s Mission to Put Patients First

Eva Villalba is the Executive Director of the Quebec Cancer Coalition, and a passionate advocate for patients and a leading voice in value-based care. Eva brings a fresh perspective on how healthcare systems can move beyond focusing on service volume and instead prioritize meaningful health outcomes for patients.

What is Value-Based Healthcare?

Value-based healthcare can be simply summed up as shifting the focus from volume to value. Most healthcare systems, including Canada’s, measure success based on the volume of services delivered, how many treatments, surgeries, and appointments are administered. This system prioritizes activity, not outcomes. Instead, Eva wants the healthcare system to focus on whether people are getting better, not just how many procedures are being performed.

At its heart, value-based healthcare aims to measure outcomes that matter most to patients and link them to the costs involved in delivering those outcomes. This paradigm shift requires a complete rethink of how we measure healthcare success.

From Theory to Practice: The Power of Data

The key to making value-based healthcare work is good data. Eva highlights the need to collect patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) to understand what matters most to patients. In partnership with the Jewish General Hospital, her team completed a two-year pilot project focused on colorectal cancer care. The project used international standards to measure patient outcomes, and the results were enlightening. Many of the outcomes that mattered most to patients, such as quality of life and mental health, were not being measured systematically before the project.

This approach not only improved patient care but also helped healthcare providers manage resources more effectively. By addressing patients’ needs early, such as reducing distressing symptoms before they worsen, the system saw fewer emergency department visits and better overall health outcomes.

Scaling Value-Based Healthcare: The Challenges

Implementing value-based healthcare on a large scale isn’t easy. It requires infrastructure, data collection, and most importantly, a cultural shift among healthcare providers. One of the biggest hurdles is changing the way doctors, nurses, and administrators work, which requires moving from a siloed approach to an integrated team approach. This collaboration ensures that all aspects of a patient’s health are considered, from mental well-being to physical recovery.

A Patient-centred Approach to Healthcare

Eva’s passion for value-based healthcare stems from her desire to see a system where patients’ voices are at the center of decision-making. She emphasizes the need for healthcare systems to ask patients what they truly want and value in their care. For some, it might be living well for three months rather than suffering through extended treatments with little benefit. By focusing on PROs and PREMs, value-based healthcare can deliver care that is personalized, compassionate, and effective.

Why Should We Care?

The benefits of value-based healthcare extend beyond the patient. A system that prioritizes health outcomes is more cost-effective in the long run. Preventing complications, reducing hospitalizations, and improving patients’ quality of life ultimately reduce the burden on the healthcare system and ensure resources are used where they are most needed.

Value-based healthcare isn’t just a trend; it’s a necessary evolution in how we approach health. By integrating care, improving data collection, and focusing on outcomes, we can build a healthcare system that serves everyone better.

17 October 2024