Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Excellence in Governance
    • Health Care Hall of Fame
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
    • Top Innovators
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Women Leaders
      • - Women to Watch
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Hospital at Home
    • - Workplace of the Future
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Future of Staffing
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Opinion
September 05, 2022 01:00 PM

Opinion: Value-based care starts at the bedside

Dr. Abi Sundaramoorthy
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Abi Whitecoat Headshot_i.png
    Dr. Abi Sundaramoorthy is chief medical officer at Wellinks, a company focused on COPD management. She’s also one of Modern Healthcare’s 2022 Emerging Leaders honorees.

    As an immigrant child from a war-torn nation, medicine was not the path I would have chosen to contribute to social justice. During medical school, I realized that the science of medicine could change the course of pathologies that are inherited at least partly due to socioeconomic factors—and as a physician, I could right a wrong.

    When I began my clinical rotations in New York City, I quickly realized how different the study of medicine was from its practice. At one of the busiest hospitals in the country, without an electronic health record, I learned that continuity of care is a hard-fought struggle. Overpopulated and understaffed, we were a conveyor belt for patients who were getting the equivalent of Band-Aids for acute manifestations of deeper and more complex medical issues. .

    This led me to seek out a smaller city with a slower pace, where I could think more critically about the pathophysiology of my patients to fix what was wrong. In residency, I experienced the transition from "medicine" to "healthcare." But I couldn't just take care of my patient, I had to take care of their medical record and prioritize it, in fear of missing something. Meanwhile, the patient was trying to tell me everything I needed to know, but that didn't matter because it wasn't documented, time-stamped or discoverable. Furthermore, "medical necessity" often meant patients couldn't receive care in the hospital that could be delivered in an outpatient setting, although there was no mechanism to ensure this would happen after discharge.

    At the end of training, I still didn't feel effective as a doctor. It was because hospitals were meant for episodic care. To have the continuity of care that I craved to better manage patients, I took my first job as an outpatient practitioner in an underserved community. I soon learned that although I had more time with my patients, I didn't have the resources to provide the care they needed. I didn't know how to help the patient who couldn't afford their life-saving blood thinner at over $500 a month or the patient who didn't have transportation to get to their appointments.

    After six years of satisfying my intellectual curiosity but never truly fulfilling my need to help patients, I realized that I was suffering from physician "burnout." But I couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't burnout, as that implies that I wanted to pull back and do less, but I wanted to do more—so much more. What I was suffering from was the moral injury of knowing what my patients needed but not having the training to fit this into the construct of the business, the resources needed to accomplish it, nor the incentives aligned to support it. So I ultimately found my way to what felt like the beginning of a solution to this phenomenon: value-based care, which I like to think of as patient-based care.

    Today, the U.S. spends over $4 trillion on healthcare with more than 900,000 healthcare companies, over 6,000 hospitals, 500 accountable care organizations and about 1,000 health plans, yet falls short in terms of outcomes compared with other developed nations. I am part of this ecosystem yet I constantly am left wondering: How involved are our providers? And I don't mean providers like myself, who left the game, albeit in an attempt to design a better playing field for others, but the ones who defend the front lines while waiting for a better system driven by a purpose much greater than their own self-interest. This has compelled me to go back to the bedside as I continue this journey to be the change I hope to see in the world.

    Recently I saw my first patient after two years and I felt like I picked up where I left off. This patient was the same person I had met during my first hospital encounter in the busy inner-city medical center. The difference was, I was changed. While I didn't know how to solve for all her needs right away, I knew where to find the solutions. And better yet, I knew that solutions exist.

    As providers pivot their focus from the science of medicine to the gaps in care delivery, it will take a village of business and academic leaders, technology solutions, payers and policymakers to be successful. While value-based care solutions are far from perfect, they are the first step to recognizing that change is needed. As we embark on this journey to design the healthcare system of the future, I urge my physician colleagues to break through past feelings of discouragement and hopelessness to propel this movement forward and lead the village, because ultimately, this change begins at the bedside.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Biden signs organ transplant overhaul measure
    Biden signs organ transplant overhaul measure
    North Carolina Medicaid Expansion
    Medicaid expansion in North Carolina to begin soon
    Most Popular
    1
    CMS tries luring providers to revamped Medicare ACOs
    2
    Oregon joins other states in setting ratios for nurse staffing
    3
    Blue Shield CA taps Amazon, Mark Cuban, CVS for new PBM model
    4
    A health innovation hub grows in Lake Nona Medical City
    5
    Hospital-at-home providers push for Medicaid coverage
    Sponsored Content
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing