Total cost of care: a discipline that leads to better care.

The health care system is undergoing dramatic change. Different approaches are underway to achieve the triple aim of improving care and population health, strengthening quality, and lowering costs. Integral to meeting the triple aim is aligning incentives for a population-based system, where the emphasis is on effectively managing and improving the care of patients and populations, thus lowering costs. Focusing on total cost of care, a composite of all cost and utilization for a person or population, enables health care payers and providers to make an impact through a patient-centered system that results in better care and reduced costs.