Message from AHVAP President-Elect

Progress Isn’t Always Pretty

For Mother’s Day, I asked my husband to accompany me on a hike. We set out on what seemed like a straightforward 5-mile hike, according to AllTrails™. But after seven days of New England rain, the trail had other plans. What should’ve been a moderate-rated path turned into a mucky, uneven 6-mile journey filled with a few course adjustments, slow climbs, and some unavoidable messes. As we trudged through the mud—sometimes detouring, sometimes stepping straight into the thick of it—I couldn’t help but think about the path we walk as value analysis professionals.

Much like that trail, our work is rarely as straightforward as it appears on paper. What starts as a simple project often evolves—budgets shift, stakeholders change, product preferences clash with evidence, and timelines extend. We do our best to map out the route, but external factors can turn even the most carefully planned initiative into something more complex and unpredictable.

There are moments when we can find a way around the obstacles—pivoting to another product, adjusting scope, or realigning the team. But there are also times when we must step directly into the messy parts: the tough conversations, the data gaps, the clinical resistance. It’s not always glamorous, and it’s rarely easy.

But the key—just like on my Mother’s Day hike—is to keep going. Progress in value analysis isn’t always fast, and it certainly isn’t linear. But step by step, decision by decision, we move forward. And eventually, we look back and realize how far we’ve come—not in spite of the mess, but because of the resilience we showed in it.

So, whether you’re navigating a muddy project or forging a new path, remember this: the trail may be longer than expected, but the journey is worth it.

Sincerely,

Anne Marie Orlando, MBA, RN, RCIS, CVAHP™, FACHDM, PNAP, FAHVAP
President-Elect, Board of Directors
AHVAP