Dr. Amy Boutwell developed The MVP (Multi-Visit Patient) Method after many years of assisting healthcare systems transform and improve their care delivery model and studying what worked best across a variety of settings.
Per the Institute for Advancing Health Value, The MVP Method has been implemented by over 275 healthcare teams in 40 states, making it the most widely disseminated high utilizer strategy in the United States. In the referenced podcast she calls to action the need to break the myth that the MVP population is “un-impactable” and that they are too hard. Not only does this frame of thinking stall creativity and forward motion, it creates bias. It can lead to the belief that it’s not worth addressing.
Dr. Boutwell emphasizes the need to change this frame of mind to address WHO the MVPs are and what drives their visits. She states that “this is the path to equity”. The MVP method is part of a larger ASPIRE method developed by Dr. Boutwell. It is important to note that both are “methods” not “models.” Boutwell highlights that the local adaptations to make a unique model on site, using facility-specific data, is what makes the MVP method effective. Other elements that are vital are system-wide buy-in, a focused MVP team, and an understanding that this is more than care coordination; it is persistent, proactive engagement of the person.
The podcast interview with Dr. Boutwell offers the listener a very thought-inducing overview of addressing care for MVPs. It is important that we break the cycles related to these individuals and recognize that this is not only good care, but that this is what operationalizing health equity looks like; this is equitable and high-value care, per Dr. Boutwell.
Ep 161 – The “High Utilizers”: Transforming Care for Multi-Visit Patients (MVPs), with Dr. Amy Boutwell; April 2023 (The Race to Value Podcast)