Breakthrough Health Care Opportunities Program: Year 2, Strategic Implementation

In July 2013, the Commonwealth Fund Board approved the creation of the Breakthrough Health Care Opportunities program to identify ideas or strategies capable of disrupting the status quo in health care. In collaboration with a diverse advisory group, the program in its first year explored approaches for identifying and vetting breakthroughs that have the potential to achieve a 20 percent reduction in health system costs or 20 percent improvement in patient outcomes within 10 to 20 years. A scanning network was launched to uncover potential ideas in the United States and abroad, and grants were awarded to intensively explore two promising topics: the next generation of provider incentives, which emphasize the behavioral and psychological factors that motivate physicians; and the use of information technology and mobile applications to support consumers in making wise health care decisions. This new appropriation will support additional work in these areas as well as efforts to harvest, evaluate, and share ideas from the scanning network.