Australian Health Service Alliance

AHSA’s David Nowell recently shared his top observations for healthcare providers on balancing value-based healthcare and reimbursement at the #ICHOM2024 conference. Payers and providers in the healthcare space should: · Collaborate and collectively innovate the ways healthcare is funded and valued. · Leverage data on patient outcomes and experiences as they have the potential to act as a key metric in strengthening services and addressing costs. · Encourage multidisciplinary approaches that integrate diverse expertise for improved patient care. AHSA shares ICHOM’s goal of advancing healthcare by promoting standardisation and measurement of health outcomes, having established Voice of the Patient (VoP) to better understand patient perspectives and assess experience and outcome metrics. As an International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) knowledge partner, VoP places patients at the centre of the healthcare equation and promotes continuous learning and development among providers, making it a leading initiative in enhancing healthcare quality and value.

AHSA’s David Nowell will join a panel discussion at the world’s largest value-based healthcare conference, #ICHOM2024, on how providers can navigate the complexities of reimbursement centred around value-based patient outcomes. Australia ranks first among ten countries for overall health system performance but fifth for care process, meaning more must be done to advance value-based care. The Voice of the Patient (VoP) platform is a proud knowledge partner of International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM), bringing Australia-specific expertise to international databases that shape patient services and experiences around the world. As the first integrated tool in Australia designed to give privately insured patients a say in their healthcare journey, the VoP has grown to become one of the largest private patient-reported databases in the country. We are excited to join other industry leaders in advancing patient centricity and look forward to exchanging insights with members of the global health measurement community. #AHSA #VoP #ICHOM #ValueBasedHealthcare

This month, we marked World Patient Safety Day on September 17. Every week, we have been highlighting insights and findings around patient safety, experience and wellbeing from the Voice of the Patient. So, what’s the key to better patient wellbeing and safety? Voice of the Patient continually finds that underpinning the excellent work of many private hospitals in Australia is their ability to communicate and engage proactively with patients. Discussing patient needs, making sure they feel heard and cared for, and addressing their pain in a timely manner, are what differentiate the best hospitals in the country. This is especially true if we look at key diagnosis groups, such as knee and hip surgeries – both of which are important elective procedures largely funded and delivered by Australia’s leading private healthcare sector. By surveying patients and understanding their experiences and perspectives on outcomes, we can collectively work to improve patient safety, wellbeing and experiences across the board. Head over to Voice of the Patient to learn more about how AHSA is supporting our world class private healthcare sector to deliver the best care possible. #WorldPatientSafetyDay #PrivateHealthcare #AHSA #PatientSafety

We are pleased to announce a new funding agreement with UnitingCare Queensland. This partnership will enhance UnitingCare’s innovative care models and modern medical technology while keeping premiums affordable for AHSA member funds’ customers. This announcement showcases how Australia’s private healthcare system can work constructively together to achieve the best outcomes for patients. By balancing hospital needs with long-term affordability of private healthcare, we are able to strike better solutions for providers and patients alike. Providing optimal healthcare in Australia is not an us-versus-them equation. We’re in it together. As a partner to health service providers across Australia, AHSA is extremely pleased to continue working alongside UnitingCare Queensland to provide that high quality care. #Healthcare #Collaboration #AHSA #UnitingCare #PHI #healthcare #ValueBasedCare #privatehealthcare #privatehospitals UnitingCare Queensland Voice of the Patient https://lnkd.in/gRH4vS9F

Today marks #WorldPatientSafetyDay. The World Health Organization Global Patient Safety Action Plan stresses the importance of patient-reported experience and outcome measures in understanding why safety incidents occur and devising solutions to prevent them. Voice of the Patient provides an important development resource in Australian healthcare by engaging patients across the country about their experience of care and elevating patient perspectives in healthcare. We’ve surveyed tens of thousands of patients every year and have been able to identify and share examples of optimal patient experiences of care. Through Voice of the Patient we know that patients have an important voice in contributing to better safety and outcomes in healthcare. Head over to Voice of the Patient to learn more about how AHSA is supporting our world class private healthcare system to deliver the best care possible. #WorldPatientSafetyDay2024 #PrivateHealthcare #AHSA #PatientSafety

World Patient Safety Day falls on September 17, and to mark this important day of awareness, we’re highlighting insights and findings from the Voice of the Patient this month. One of the best ways to ensure all Australians access safe healthcare includes helping patients understand their health journey and reducing unknowns or misconceptions. Patient safety is essential in all settings and levels of healthcare provision and is impacted by multiple interrelated factors. One of those is patient comorbidities. Through Voice of the Patient, we can identify that patients with multiple chronic conditions are more likely to report adverse experiences during their hospital stay. But Voice of the Patient also indicates that the best performing private hospitals are more engaged with these patients and more effective in supporting them through their care journey. By measuring what matters most to patients and understanding their experiences, and perspectives on outcomes, we can collectively work to improve patient safety and wellbeing across the board. Head over to the Voice of the Patient to learn more about how AHSA is supporting our world class private healthcare sector to deliver the best care possible. #WorldPatientSafetyDay #PrivateHealthcare #AHSA #PatientSafety

World Patient Safety Day falls on September 17, and to mark this important day of awareness, we’re highlighting insights and findings from the Voice of the Patient this month. Australia operates one of the world’s best and most revered health systems. Our healthcare professionals are of the highest calibre, our private hospitals are top notch, and our outcomes are world leading. We know that by measuring our performance, things get better. The Voice of the Patient enables Australia’s already high performing private hospitals to continue to improve by providing feedback from the patient. To date, we found that 96% of patients in private hospitals report a good to very good overall experience. Improving healthcare experiences and outcomes is important and not solely the responsibility of the providers. We can all play a role. By surveying patients and understanding their experiences and perspectives on outcomes, we can collectively work to improve patient safety, wellbeing and experiences across the board. Head over to the Voice of the Patient to learn more about how AHSA is supporting our world class private healthcare sector to deliver the best care possible. #WorldPatientSafetyDay #PrivateHealthcare #AHSA #PatientSafety

We’ve seen a significant focus on private health in recent weeks, but one key part of the story has been missing. Our CEO, Andrew Sando, has written a piece urging industry and stakeholders across healthcare to stay mindful of the tremendous work and impact that the private healthcare system has on Australia and millions of people. Head over to the AHSA website to read his piece: https://lnkd.in/g2EUDu3T Voice of the Patient #AHSA #PHI #healthcare #ValueBasedCare #privatehealthcare #privatehospitals

Thirty years ago, #AHSA was founded with a vision to deliver member-owned and not-for-profit health funds with competitive, patient-focused contract rates with Australia’s private hospitals. Since then, we have grown alongside our funds through the constantly changing regulatory environment, evolutions to #healthcare systems and models of care. Today, our funds support more than 2 million Australians. However, our purpose remains the same: to help our funds provide access to the highest-quality private healthcare at an affordable price. On Tuesday 25th June, the AHSA team came together to celebrate the 30-year milestone and look to the future of delivering value to member funds through quality contracting outcomes focused on the consumer. From prioritising #ValueBasedHealthcare through Voice of the Patient to ensuring smaller health funds have their voices heard, AHSA is committed to improving healthcare outcomes for all privately insured Australians.

#AHSA held a successful two-day Operations Seminar at the Langham Melbourne this week. More than 100 attendees from across our community of not-for-profit and member owned funds joined us to hear about AHSA’s priorities and the future of private health insurance (#PHI) in Australia. On Day One, we heard from Simon McCarthy and David Nowell, who updated our member funds on AHSA’s strategy and hospital agreements respectively. We were delighted to welcome Daniel Erasmus, CEO of Insight Actuaries, to jointly present on our Voice of the Patient initiative, a patient insights platform pushing Australia’s #healthcare system forward in #ValueBasedCare. On Day Two, the team delved into AHSA’s new initiatives around claims integrity and our #health monitor platform, among the many other services and support we provide our member funds. It was great to see representatives from so many of our member funds in attendance and eager to discuss the PHI sector and health system in Australia. Helen Bentley, Darren Hartney, Paul Kneebone, Genevieve Hoodless, Melinda Williams, Michele Vanest