Improving patient health outcomes through value-based approaches requires skills from physicians and technological analysis. Healthcare in the form of value-based care brings together an interesting mix of technology, and medical know-how.

The foundations of value-based healthcare focuses on federal reimbursements for improving patient outcomes, and will eventually replace the traditional fee-for-service setups. In other words, providers receive payment not for the amount of tests they order, but rather if a patient gets better.

A good dose of customer service is necessary to accomplish this. Customer service in the healthcare space is also known as patient engagement, a term very familiar to clinicians. It can be compared loosely to guests at a hotel: They may pay for a room, linens and amenities, but they’ll only come again if they’re satisfied with their overall hotel experience. Likewise, patients will naturally prefer hospitals they know will make and keep them healthy.

That brings us to technology’s role in value-based healthcare. In many ways, the approach to this type of care is as much analytical as it is medical. It requires software algorithms, big data monitoring and the help of nurse support groups utilizing technology to engage with patients. While improving health outcomes is a personal wish of each and every patient, those wishes taken cumulatively can also be a measure of data trends.

Part of the value-based care movement is budget-based, no doubt, as policies undergo constant scrutiny. But the greater good of patients is at play here, too, as we see more and more examples of providers showing patients how to take care of themselves and avoid hospital stays. Value-based healthcare is a sign of the government’s and society’s shifting views on medical treatment.