The integrated practice units (IPUs) are teams that consist of various professionals that are responsible for the total care of a medical condition and its complications [33]. Such teams follow the patient’s wellbeing over the entire journey, minimising additional costs created by unnecessary interventions [23].

It is essential to track and measure the relevant patient data to ensure that patient outcomes are improved. Data analysis shows how outcomes have improved throughout time while linking them to incurred costs [13].

The idea is to ultimately develop bundled payments for reimbursing providers for improving patient outcomes.

Rather than directing the patient to multisite organisations where to get treatments, there is the need to integrate systems in order to eliminate the fragmentation and duplication of care, and to optimize the types of care delivered at each location.

If value is to be increased on a large scale, providers for a particular medical condition need to serve patients beyond their immediate geographic areas: they need to extend their reach through the strategic expansion of excellent IPUs. Following the VBHC principles, geographic expansion should focus on improving value and not volume.

The importance of accessing patient data through different devices owned by different stakeholders (data interoperability) is fundamental to enable VBHC [34]. An information technology platform allows the other five components to be implemented.