WGU Launches ‘Race to Value’ Podcast Focused on Value in Healthcare

New series explores healthcare’s value economy in weekly interviews with top leaders in value-based care.

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Western Governors University (WGU), in collaboration with the Accountable Care Learning Collaborative (ACLC), is hosting a new series aimed at exploring the issues surrounding the nation’s healthcare value economy and value-based care, the Race to Value podcast. New episodes will be available every Monday beginning August 17 and are accessible on popular streaming sites and the podcast’s website.

The Race to Value series brings together top-level industry leaders to discuss the current healthcare economy and explore potential pathways to drive value-based care forward. Hosts Eric Weaver, Executive Director of the ACLC, and Daniel Chipping, Senior Manager of ACLC Operations, will focus on “harnessing [leaders’] brainpower to facilitate transformation in our country’s healthcare system.” In each session, they speak with innovators in the value-based care space from hospitals, health systems, physician practices, and post-acute providers as well as other industries to share knowledge and best practices in health value.

“Michael Leavitt, co-founder of the ACLC who served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and as Governor of Utah, has stated that we are in a ‘race to make value work’ in order to remain economically competitive in a global marketplace,” said Weaver. “We named the podcast ‘Race to Value’ because we believe our platform can help healthcare leaders navigate the path for a winning outcome. With the podcast, we strive to democratize knowledge and highlight best practices in value-based care.”

Value-based care has become an increasingly important topic of conversation in the healthcare industry as a potential replacement for the current “fee-for-service” model. Value-based care, focused on prevention rather than reaction, is a model that emphasizes better patient outcomes and improved quality of care delivery while decreasing costs associated with unnecessary utilization of healthcare services. Implementing this healthcare model has been described as cost effective for all those involved, including providers, physicians, and patients.

The ACLC, a learning collaborative housed at WGU, is working to expand thought leadership in value-based care by creating competency-based resources that have been developed collaboratively by the organization’s members. Currently, the ACLC has hundreds of members and participants nationwide and is growing quickly with an offer of free membership to provider organizations during 2020. To learn more about the ACLC, visit accountablecarelc.org.

“The Race to Value podcast directly supports the ACLC mission to accelerate the healthcare industry toward success in value-based care,” said Chipping. “The podcast platform provides an important opportunity for value-minded healthcare professionals to learn from their peers and leaders in health value. The ‘race to value’ is a race that we must run together, and this podcast is our way of providing inspiration, support, and connection among those who are in the race.”

To learn more about the Race to Value podcast and its hosts, visit racetovalue.org. Those interested in staying up to date with podcast happenings can subscribe to the newsletter at racetovalue.org/newsletter.

About WGU

Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves more than 121,000 students nationwide and has more than 195,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation’s leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 23 years, the university has become a leading influence in the development of innovative workforce-focused approaches to education. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and has been featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at www.wgu.edu.