EP360: How to Deliver Value-Based Care That Meets Value-Based Payment Objectives, With Jeb Dunkelberger

The Operational Playbook for Value-Based Care, With Jeb Dunkelberger. Three Things Providers Must Fix to Actually Deliver on Value-Based Payment Contracts. Episode 360. Stacey Richter talks with Jeb Dunkelberger, CEO of Sutter Health | Aetna, a full-risk payvider, about what has to change operationally—not just contractually—for a provider organization to actually deliver value-based care once it signs a value-based payment contract. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ✅ Why providers won't switch up their fee-for-service business model unless value-based payments actually reward the value they create ✅ The five clinical-workflow fixes Dunkelberger says are essential: right data at the point of care, generics-first pick lists, easy access to pended orders, empowered medical assistants, and built-in referral management ✅ Why care navigators matter even more when the EHR doesn't support referral navigation on its own ✅ Why aligning physician compensation to organizational goals is a required third leg of the stool, not an optional extra ✅ Why claims data from payers needs to actually reach clinicians at the point of care, not just live in a report ✅ Why changing provider behavior is "an absolute art and science" that technology alone can't solve WHY THIS MATTERS Signing a value-based contract doesn't automatically produce value-based care—providers have to rebuild the clinical workflow, add navigation, and realign physician pay, or the incentive changes just sit on paper. Dunkelberger's framework, from a CEO actually running a full-risk payvider, gives provider organizations a concrete operational checklist instead of a vague call to "do better." === LINKS === 🔗 Show Notes with all mentioned links: Episode Page ✉️ Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter 🫙 Support the podcast with a small donation to the Tip Jar 📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel 🎤 Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎤 Listen on Spotify === CONNECT WITH THE RHV TEAM === ✭ LinkedIn ✭ Threads ✭ Bluesky ✭ X 00:00 Introduction. 08:36 What must a provider organization consider operationally when incorporating value-based care and value-based payments? 09:44 How can you use perverse incentives to encourage people to do the right thing? 12:25 How should clinical workflows operate to incorporate value-based care? 14:10 "How do you align patients?" 15:52 How should the EHR operate to maximize value-based workflow? 16:52 Why is taking action on claims data and clinical data together important? 20:26 "Have they actually solved the last mile of integrations?" 21:15 "Changing the behavior of a provider is an absolute art and science." 22:57 "We have to do more." 27:09 "That administrative headache … doesn't just end with the insurer."