Delivering Real Value: Insights from Kevin Bozic, MD, MBA and the UT-Austin Dell Med Success Story

What does “value” in health care actually mean—and how do we get there? MTVA sat down with a top leader in the value movement who’s put the value philosophy into practice! 

Kevin Bozic, MD, MBA is Chair of Surgery and Perioperative Care at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. He’s internationally recognized in the field of orthopaedic surgery (a Past President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) and a leading force in value-based health care. 

For Dr. Bozic, value isn’t just about cutting costs or providing better services. It’s about delivering HEALTH. 

“You can provide the lowest cost, most efficient, high quality, safe health care, and unless it improves someone's health, you haven't created any value.” 

Since joining Dell Med in 2015, Dr. Bozic has built a department from the ground up around one central philosophy: health is the goal, and care is one contributor to achieving it. By recruiting mission-driven clinicians and fostering a team culture grounded in purpose, his department has seen not only improved outcomes, but also provider satisfaction and staff retention.

In this episode, Dr. Bozic discusses:

• Why “health care” should always be 2 words—and what that distinction means

• The power of making health our North Star

• Why value must be measured by patient-reported health outcomes

• What it takes to shift culture in medicine—and how he built a new model from scratch

• How turf wars and rigid incentives are holding us back—and what we can do about it

He challenges fellow physicians to take ownership of reform: “No one is more responsible for how we deliver and pay for health care than physicians, and we're the people that the rest of the world trusts. Society trusts us. They don't trust the government or health plans or bureaucrats or anyone else to fix these problems.” 

Dr. Bozic also reflects on changes in medical education, and his experiences training the next generation of physicians. 

If you’ve ever asked what it would take to fix the U.S. health system from the inside out, this conversation offers both vision and proof of concept! 

“If we could get the country focused on the whole end game here in health care is health, that would be a step forward.”

To learn more about the proposed cuts to Medicaid, check out our episode with Stephanie Noriea. 

Sources Referenced:

• • “Who Killed Health Care? America's $2 Trillion Medical Problem—and the Consumer-Driven Cure” (2007) by Regina Herzlinger
  • Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results (2006) by Michael Porter and Elizabeth Teisberg
  • “The Innovator's Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care