Value-Based Healthcare Journey

The First Public Healthcare Institution to Pioneer VDO in Singapore

​Advancing VDO

Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) became the second public healthcare institution within our cluster, to adopt the VDO framework and they started with six VDO projects – Total Knee Replacement, Cataract, Hip Fracture, Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and Pneumonia. 

At the National Level

Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) adopted NUHS VDO initiative and introduced the National Value-Driven Care (VDC) initiative to all public healthcare institutions. VDO formed a crucial pillar in support of MOH’s “3 Beyonds” – Beyond Healthcare to Health, Beyond Hospital to Community and Beyond Quality to Value.

As a result, 17 ‘high impact’ conditions from the national perspective were identified to embark on the initiative by MOH. In the same year, NUHS was awarded the Gold Award at the National Health IT Summit. 

“We were able to leverage data from our existing IT system to create the VDO framework. We pulled data from different silos and amalgamated it. Our biggest success was partnering enthusiastic Clinician Champions who provided meaningful insights to drive clinical change with improved patient outcomes.”

A/Prof James Yip

Head, Academic Informatics Office, National University Health System (NUHS)
Director, National University Heart Centre, Singapore (NUHCS)

Improvement initiatives​

NUHS VDO Office partnered with NUH Quality Improvement (QI) Department to drive Value-Driven Outcomes initiatives, and Rapid Improvement Event (RIE) to streamline processes, including:

“VDO aims for sustainable patient care and outcomes. The three pillars, Finance, Data and Culture are equally important. Transparency of actual and predictable costs and outcomes provides the needed visibility, which is a key enabler to maintain sustainability.”

Ms Wong Soo Min

Group Chief Financial Officer, National University Health System (NUHS)

Extension of VDO to wider medical community​

VDO projects covers about 20% of total case load, which accounts for approximately 30% of total cost across NUHS. Institutions continue to identify new projects and potential gaps for improvements which eventually translated to improved value and incredible care to patients.

“VDO is a powerful tool measuring relevant data for all members of the healthcare team. It is patient-centric and allows clinicians to be cognisant of patient outcomes and benchmark themselves against their peers. Going forward, it will be increasingly important as we tackle the healthcare needs of a more elderly population whilst trying to ensure the health of the population under the care of NUHS and that of the nation as a whole.”

Dr Diarmuid Murphy

Group Chief Value Officer, National University Health System (NUHS)
Head, Division of Musculoskeletal Trauma, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National University Hospital (NUH)

​Scaling up VDO

• ​Alexandra Hospital came on board the VDO framework making all institutions within the NUHS cluster to be part of the VDO framework.
• VDO scaled up to support research projects and incorporated into teaching curriculum at NUH, to equip our next generation of healthcare professionals. 
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the VDO framework was used to analyse impact and track the quality of care across the cluster. Other than impact on case load, the quality of care delivered to patients was maintained throughout the pandemic with no significant decrease in quality observed.
• As of January 2022, there were over 70 VDO projects completed with more than $10 million in total cost avoidance achieved.
• VDO will continue to play an important role in Singapore’s Value-Based Healthcare initiatives including monitoring our population’s health, to drive preventive care and deliver quality care, sustainably.
  

“VDO is simply a very powerful tool that measures both the desired clinical outcomes as well as patient reported outcomes, and ensures that they are delivered in a sustainable and cost-effective way. This enables us to be guided by data in our mission to provide superlative care to our patients.”

Prof Yeoh Khay Guan

Chief Executive, National University Health System (NUHS)