May 2020

Discern Health was a sponsor of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)’s annual “Quality Talks” conference that was held virtually on April 28. During the event, health care leaders participated in a series of stirring, succinct talks with ideas about how to collaboratively improve American health care, focusing on the implications of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Providers, policymakers, and other key stakeholders also discussed the role of quality and value-based care to address the current challenges.

Key points included:

• The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing innovation, including telehealth and resources for vulnerable patients.
• Small, incremental changes can lead to breakthroughs. Solutions can be created, implemented, and tested on a small scale and then iteratively shared and improved.
• Patients can pioneer change in the health care delivery system. Patients are motivated to innovate because they live with the daily experience of managing their diseases and realize that imperfect solutions can dramatically improve their quality of life.

NCQA has posted presentations from the conference here.