Addressing Health-Related Social Needs: Value-Based Care or Values-Based Care?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare policy
• Public health
• Medical ethics

Background:

• Health-related social needs (HRSN) interventions address factors like food insecurity and housing instability, which negatively impact health outcomes.
• The adoption of HRSN interventions in healthcare is often driven by the potential for cost savings.
• This creates a conflict for clinicians accustomed to justifying innovations based on health improvements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a framework for addressing the conflict between health improvement and cost-saving justifications for HRSN interventions.
• To outline an agenda for scholarly research on this topic.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of justification frameworks for clinical innovation.
• Ethical considerations of professional duty in healthcare.

Main Results:

• HRSN interventions may improve health without being cost-saving, posing a dilemma for healthcare providers.
• A potential conflict exists between 'value-based care' (cost-efficiency) and 'values-based care' (health improvement).

Conclusions:

• Prioritizing patient and public health, core values of the medical profession, requires understanding when to emphasize values-based care over solely value-based care.
• Fulfilling professional duty necessitates navigating the ethical considerations of HRSN interventions that improve health but may not be cost-effective.