VBHC: Improve Your Healthcare Thanks to Patient Experience

Thanks to specialized patient experience and engagement measurement platforms, healthcare organizations can rigorously measure patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) and patient-reported experiences (PREMs) to make more informed decisions based on real facts.

In this article, Lime's patient experience and engagement experts explain why these platforms have become strategic allies for healthcare organizations that want to adopt a value-based healthcare (VBHC) approach, and how they contribute to improving care at all levels.

What Is the VBHC (Value-Based Healthcare) Model in Healthcare?

The VBHC model, or value-based healthcare, proposes a rethinking of how healthcare is organized, evaluated, and financed. Rather than focusing solely on the actions taken or the costs incurred, it refocuses attention on what really matters: the health outcomes achieved for patients, relative to the resources mobilized to achieve them.

The success of the VBHC model is no longer measured solely by medical or administrative indicators, but also by what patients feel, experience, and report after their care: their regained independence, their relief, their quality of life.

Read Also: The Innovative Value-Based Healthcare Model Explained

Why the Patient Experience Is at the Heart of Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC)

In a value-based approach, the quality of care can no longer be limited to clinical or administrative indicators. What gives meaning to care is the patient's experience:

• Were they listened to?

• Well informed?

• Reassured?

• Did they feel that their preferences were taken into account?

The patient experience allows us to capture these essential perceptions. It reveals the strengths, but also the invisible irritants of care: lack of clarity, delays, lack of follow-up, poor communication. These elements directly influence trust, adherence to treatment, and ultimately, health outcomes themselves.

PREMs and PROMs: Pillars of the VBHC Approach to Healthcare

Patients may have received all the necessary care, but has their health really improved?

This is where PREMs and PROMs become essential in providing healthcare facilities with reliable data in this regard:

➡️ PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures) are surveys that allow us to find out how a patient assesses their own health after treatment or surgery. For example, what is the status of, among other things:

• Their mobility;

• Their pain;

• Their quality of life;

• Etc.

➡️ PREMs (Patient-Reported Experience Measures) measure the experience of patients. For example, how this person assessed:

• The clarity of the information received from the various stakeholders throughout their care pathway;

• The respect shown towards them;

• The waiting time before receiving care;

• Etc.

These are scientifically validated tools, often integrated into digital platforms, which enable data to be collected in a rigorous, standardized manner and, above all, directly from the people concerned, i.e., the patients.

The Benefits of Measuring Patient Experience and Engagement Using the VBHC Model

Quite simply, because these are the only data that answer the fundamental question of the Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) approach: has healthcare really improved what matters most to the patient, from their point of view?

Healthcare facilities that regularly use PREMs and PROMs have:

• ✅ a better understanding of their clinical performance;

• ✅ an increased ability to adjust their practices;

• ✅ more consistent health outcomes.

📝 Concrete example: a hospital that analyzes PROMs after orthopedic surgery may find that one rehabilitation protocol is less effective than another. Not necessarily in theory, but based on patients' actual perceptions.

The patient experience: a strategic lever with tangible benefits

Measuring patient experience and engagement is not limited to collecting surveys. In a VBHC approach, it is a real strategic lever, transforming the voice of patients into a driving force for action to improve care, adjust practices, and mobilize teams around what really matters.

What a well-integrated patient experience platform enables

✅ Centralize all patient experience and outcome data

• All responses (PREMs, PROMs, verbatim comments) are grouped together in one place and linked to the relevant episodes of care.

✅ Quickly identify strengths and areas for improvement

• Thanks to artificial intelligence, free comments are automatically sorted according to key themes (e.g., accessibility, empathy, clarity of information) to detect trends and take effective action.

✅ Provide a 360° view of care quality. Data can be viewed at several levels:

• Clinical (e.g., persistent pain after surgery);

• Care team (e.g., quality of communication);

• Management (e.g., evolution of PREMs scores by unit, by period).

✅ Support continuous improvement

• The results are presented in clear dashboards, which are useful for facilitating performance reviews or PREMs committees with clinical teams.

What the patient experience actually changes for your healthcare facility

✅ More relevant care, based on patients' actual perceptions

📝 Concrete example: a surgical department uses PREMs to identify that a post-operative protocol is poorly understood. An explanatory sheet added to the discharge summary boosts comprehension scores and reduces calls to the department after 48 hours.

✅ Improved organizational performance. Facilities with good PREMs scores often have:

• Fewer preventable complications;

• Better staff retention;

• Fewer complaints and legal disputes.

✅ Better positioning in the face of new funding models

In the United States, certain PROMs are already required for surgeries such as hip or knee replacements, and this data influences reimbursement mechanisms (e.g., CMS).

Meanwhile, in Canada, several provinces are actively exploring quality-based funding models, which could eventually integrate PREMs indicators into management agreements or organizational incentives.

👉 Health facilities that already have a PREMs/PROMs measurement infrastructure and integrated analysis capabilities will be better prepared to respond quickly to these evolving requirements.

✅ Increased team engagement

Patient experience data provides a common language for managers and clinicians. It promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthens commitment to continuous improvement.

How to Integrate PREMs and PROMs Into Your Healthcare Facility

PREMs and PROMs are powerful tools, but they are most valuable when integrated into a technology platform dedicated to collecting key data and designed for the clinical and organizational realities of healthcare facilities.

Key conditions for successfully integrating a patient experience platform

Setting up a patient experience platform is not just about buying software: it is a transformative project that requires methodology, buy-in, and meaning. Here are the key conditions for success:

1. ✅ Have a clear (and shared) vision. Before even choosing a technology, you need to answer some simple questions:

• Why do we want to measure the experience and reported results?

• What will this data be used for? Who will use it?

• What concrete changes are we aiming for?

A project that is well aligned with the healthcare strategy is more likely to remain effective over time.

2. ✅ Choose validated and adaptable tools

Not all surveys are created equal. It is essential to use scientifically validated PROMs and PREMs that are available in the right language and tailored to your clientele.

💡 Tip: choose a platform that can integrate both standardized tools (HOOS/KOOS, HCAHPS, etc.) and customized modules (such as the Lime platform).

3. ✅ Secure data collection

Issues of confidentiality, security, and consent must be anticipated from the outset of the project. Platforms must comply with data protection standards (e.g., SOC 2, LPRPS, HIPAA, GDPR, depending on jurisdiction).

4. ✅ Plan for integration into clinical workflows

A good platform integrates with electronic medical records (EMR), allows you to schedule survey mailings (pre- or post-stay), and provides access to results in real time without adding to staff workload.

💡 Mini-checklist:

• Does your healthcare organization have a clear vision that is aligned with the VBHC model?

• Have you identified valid measurement tools?

• Are your clinical teams ready to use the data?

• Do your current systems allow for fully secure data collection?

Start Measuring Your Patients’ Actual Experience With Lime

It is no longer enough to ask whether care was provided correctly: you also need to know how it was experienced and whether it really made a difference in patients' lives.

Facilities that measure experience and perceived outcomes are not only more responsive: they are more agile, more efficient, and above all, better aligned with current patient expectations.

💡 With a platform like Lime, you can transform every point of contact with your patients into a source of learning and continuous improvement for your healthcare facility.