IRVING, TX – VHA Inc., the national health care network, announced the formation of a national Value Based Purchasing (VBP) Advisory Panel. The panel, which consists of nationally-recognized experts, will help hospitals and clinicians transition into this new environment, where reimbursements are linked to quality and safety outcomes. The panel members were selected because they represent a broad array of clinical, operational, and behavioral disciplines with knowledge and experience related to specific components of the government's value-based purchasing initiative or the environment in which it will operate. Through the efforts of the advisory panel, hospitals and clinicians will gain better insights into the choices and issues that arise with value-based purchasing. 

"The value-based purchasing environment is not simply about looking at performance measures and tracking progress," said Trent Haywood, MD, JD, chief medical officer at VHA and a former deputy chief medical officer at the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. "Instead, it is a new focus on how we can collectively create more value for patients, clinicians, and providers. For value creation to occur, we need broader insights into the choices we have. The diverse background and expertise of the panel provides these insights."

Beginning Oct. 1, 2012, through its value-based purchasing program, CMS will link hospital payments to clinical quality and patient experience scores. Hospitals that don't perform well could lose millions of dollars in Medicare reimbursements. In May 2010, VHA announced the creation of its Value Insurance Program Services, precisely designed to help member organizations focus on specific VBP performance improvement needs. 

"Reimbursement from payers, both government and private insurers, has long been based on the volume of care delivered, but the reimbursement model of the future will be based almost exclusively on the value that's provided, and hospitals will struggle to adapt to this shift," said panel member David B. Nash, MD, MBA, dean of the Jefferson School of Population Health. "The panel will provide unbiased insight into the changes that must occur across health care for implementation of value-based purchasing. Without this sort of guidance, the industry may be delayed in developing positive momentum to adopting value-based purchasing."

The members of the VHA VBP Advisory Panel include:

1. Ann Scott Blouin, RN, PhD, Executive Vice President, The Joint Commission, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
2. Dale Bratzler, DO, MPH, President/CEO, Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, Oklahoma City, Okla.
3. Eric A. Coleman, MD, MPH, Director, Care Transitions Program, Denver
4. Helen Darling, President, National Business Group on Health, Washington, D.C.
5. R. Adams Dudley, MD, MBA, Professor of Medicine and Health Policy, Associate Director for Research, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco
6. Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, Executive Director, John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
7. Nancy Foster, Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety Policy, American Hospital Association, Washington, DC.
8. Judith Hibbard, DrPH, Senior Researcher, Institute for Policy Research and Innovation, Professor, Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.
9. David Hunt, MD, FACS, Medical Director, Office of Provider Adoption Support, Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Washington, D.C.
10. Ann Jordan, PhD, Professor of Anthropology, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
11. Beverly Jordan, RN, Vice President of Nursing/Chief Nurse Executive, Baptist Memorial Health Care, Memphis, Tenn.
12. Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.
13. Rob Maurer, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Systems Management, Texas Woman's University, Dallas
14. David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Dean, Jefferson School of Population Health, Philadelphia
15. Greg Pawlson, MD, MPH, Executive Vice President, National Committee for Quality Assurance, Washington, D.C.
16. Michael Rapp, MD, JD, FACEP, Director of Quality Measurement & Health Assessment Group, Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore
17. Victoria Rich, RN, PhD, Chief Nurse Executive, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
18. Meredith Rosenthal, PhD, Associate Professor, Health Economics and Policy, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston
19. Thinh H. Tran, MD, Chief Medical and Quality Officer, Baptist Health South Florida, Miami
20. John Vassall II, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer, Swedish Medical Center, Seattle
21. Stephen Wallenhaupt, MD, Executive Vice President/Chief Medical Officer, Novant Health, Winston-Salem, N.C.