Cardiovascular Patient Perspectives on Value in the Healthcare Experience

Since the Affordable Care Act’s enactment in 2010, U.S. policymakers have rapidly moved towards “value-based” payment (VBP) models, which link payment to performance on measures of quality and costs. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its associated conditions have been a major focus of VBP.

However, few studies have examined how patients themselves define value. The University of Utah conducted a survey of patients, clinicians, and employers and found that affordability and service orientation were most important for value, but this survey did not focus on patients with CVD. Understanding how patients with CVD define value in their healthcare experience could allow clinical leaders and policymakers to develop policies and care delivery programs that best align with patient values.

Therefore, in this study, we examined how U.S. patients with CVD define value in their healthcare experience, how they assess the value of a clinical visit, and how satisfied they were with the value of their healthcare. Additionally, we examined whether patients’ socioeconomic and demographic attributes are associated with different perspectives.