Low-value health care is treatment that offers little to no clinical benefit to patients yet is a major drain of resources often at the detriment to patients. Low-value health care is one of the biggest drivers of health care spending, costing an estimated $345 billion each year. In 2015, spending on these types of items and services included:
- $928 million on population-based Vitamin D screening
- $483 million on antibiotics for sinusitis
These costly items and services often have no impact on a patient’s wellbeing and could directly contribute to health care system inefficiencies, medical errors and wasteful spending. That’s why last month, the Research Consortium for Health Care Value Assessment released a web-based tool allowing users to visually track the prevalence and spending associated with the administration of low-value services.
Designed with state-level organizations in mind, this low-value care visualizer distills information on how many patients experienced low-value care and how much money was spent on those treatments. For example, the tool analyzed commercial-based claims data from Virginia and found that 41% of members received at least one low-value care service and that 38% of overall spending, or approximately $706 million, was attributed to low-value care.
Tools like these can help us move toward a more value-driven health care system that works better for patients. Learn more and use the tool here.
Katie Koziara is a director of public affairs at PhRMA focusing on the organization’s executive visibility work and media relations strategy. She previously ran the social media strategy for a D.C.-based non-profit working on federal management and leadership issues. Katie earned her B.A. in Public Policy from the University of Michigan’s Ford School and is currently earning her M.A. in Fiction Writing from Johns Hopkins University.
Topics: The Value Collaborative
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