WISH Accountable Care Learnings Presented to National Health Service England

An event highlighting the research and findings of the WISH 2016 forum report on accountable care was held in London recently. The ‘Learning from WISH: A Forum on Accountable Care’ event was attended by nearly 100 representatives from a wide range of organizations within the NHS England network.

The London gathering of healthcare professionals was the first WISH satellite forum to be held away from the main summit, which takes place biennually in Doha. It was organized by Imperial College Health Partners, The Health Foundation, and The Institute of Global Health Innovation, all of which are based in London, as well as Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy from Washington D.C.

The purpose of the forum was to increase attendees’ understanding of the core principles of accountable care, to showcase how accountable care can help achieve population health goals and system efficiencies, and to identify how healthcare providers in England are adapting and advancing accountable care principles.

Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham, member of the Qatar Foundation Advisory Board and Executive Chair of WISH, delivered the welcome address ahead of a series of workshops and panel discussions.

“NHS England is experiencing challenges similar to those in other health systems across the world: a population that is living longer with increasing co-morbidities and complex health and social care needs, resulting in higher demand for services,” Professor Darzi said.

“However, the care delivery system is fragmented and different providers align their care provision to a reimbursement system that rewards activity rather than quality or value. Our 2013 WISH report, published when accountable care was still an emerging concept, explained what it was and how it could work. Our 2016 report showed how to make it happen.”

Panel discussions at the event highlighted topics that included the application of an accountable care framework to the UK’s healthcare system; global care delivery and payment innovations; and supporting change and transformation in a healthcare system. Facilitated workshops were also set up to discuss forum attendees’ experiences with applied accountable care. Individuals from organizations that have already established frameworks for delivering accountable care shared insights into practices that have produced positive results with those looking to establish an effective working framework of accountable care within their own organizations.

Mark McClellan, Director of Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, and chair of WISH 2016 Accountable Care forum, moderated a panel titled ‘Accountable Care Around the World: Applying principles to the UK’.

Mr. McClellan said: “WISH is not just about bringing together world leaders and innovators for a conference, but about actual transformation. The work that we have done on accountable care is providing a unique contribution to dealing with the difficult challenges that we face when striving to provide better care. This is thanks to Lord Darzi’s leadership and the collaboration of many people in this room alongside a growing number of organizations and government leaders from around the world.”
The Accountable Care framework, highlighted at the London event, was first presented at the WISH 2016 Accountable Care forum, in Doha, Qatar, and is included in the published report entitled ‘Implementing Accountable Care to Achieve Better Health at a Lower Cost’.

Within Qatar, WISH, an initiative of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), built on its 2013 Accountable Care Report and called on its network of experts in order to help establish an accountable care model at the Al Wakra SMART clinic that is now being used to screen, diagnose, and manage diabetes in the local community. Jointly developed and run by the Primary Heath Care Corporation and Hamad Medical Corporation, the accountable care model is based on an integrated program that brings together nurses, doctors, nutritionalists, dieticians, and medical educators to cater for each patient’s specific needs and help them maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The WISH 2016 Accountable Care forum report is available to read at http://bit.ly/2fH1sbn