Improving Value Through Standard and Systematic Data Collection

Purpose of Review: Identifying high-value management strategies is increasingly important in a health care system with finite resources. This review describes the importance of robust data collection in determining treatment outcomes and valuations using examples in otolaryngology. Recent Findings: There has been a shift in both health care systems and US government payers toward providing health care with significant benefit at reasonable cost. Systematic data collection has been employed in multiple areas of otolaryngology to measure outcomes and quantify the value of many interventions. Multiple methods exist to investigate the value of treatment strategies, including cost effectiveness analysis and applying appropriateness criteria. Summary: Robust data collection is the foundation of outcomes research and enables the assessment of the value of a treatment strategy. With current health care trends, providing high-value care will become all but mandatory across otolaryngology and other medical fields.