As my parents age and cope with chronic disease, I see first-hand how the healthcare system fails them and countless other seniors. Whether it’s polypharmacy (my father-in-law takes 17 medications daily) or abysmal care coordination of vulnerable patients (my father’s impaired memory leads to many follow-up orders not communicated between doctors), America’s healthcare system has lost its way. Adding insult to injury, Americans spend more on healthcare than any other country in the world, yet outcomes rank dead last among industrialized nations.

So how did we get here? For 50 years, the U.S. healthcare system has operated under a fee-for-service model — Americans pay for what they collectively use. Although well-intentioned, a fee-for-service system inherently encourages overuse and promotes expensive, hospital-based emergency care over affordable, community-based preventive care. Volume, in this model, has become synonymous with success — more patients per hour means more profit. So doctors are increasingly overworked and clinics have trended towards managing healthy patients like me instead of complex patients like my parents.

Fortunately, all of this is about to change. Led by Medicare, the U.S. healthcare system is undergoing a major business model transformation from fee-for-service to value-based care. In this model, quality of care is rewarded more highly than quantity. Calyx Health’s team of physicians, technologists and Medicare experts launched a doctor’s office exclusively for Medicare seniors, to fully align with this new business model; our mission is to build the healthcare system seniors deserve and the country urgently needs. 

Optimizing Calyx Health operations for value-based care allows us to better serve the unique needs of an aging population. For starters, patients’ visits last longer because we recognize that their health needs are more complex. Our clinical team of internal medicine and geriatrics specialists are proactive about preventive care and maintenance, so we can intervene with patients before they end up in emergency rooms or hospitals. We host fitness sessions, mindfulness workshops and computer classes because we understand that individuals’ well-being contributes as much to their health as disease management. 

Even our flagship clinic is designed to better accommodate patients with ambulation challenges, cataracts and hearing loss.

For our parents and everyone else’s, we’re excited to bring this innovative approach to senior care, starting right here in Alameda.