How true outcomes-based commissioning can really ‘liberate’ healthcare services

Healthcare systems all over the world face the challenge of variable care quality, inefficiency and increasing costs. A potential solution is value-based healthcare, where the aim is to achieve the best outcomes at the lowest cost. However, the measurement of outcomes that really reflect what matters most to patients is currently rudimentary. The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) has been developed to create globally consistent sets of outcomes that reflect what matters most to patients. Incorporating such sets of outcomes into capitated outcome-based and incentivised contracts will incentivise better outcomes and greater cost efficiency.