The study, which originally appeared in the May Journal of General Internal Medicine, analyzed 160 physician organizations with 11,718 practice sites participating in a pay-for-performance program of Oakland, Calif.-based Integrated Healthcare. The program paid $45 million to participating physician organizations in 2011 based on whether the physicians met a set of quality measures for patient care provided during the previous year.
The average pay-for-performance score for physician organizations in the Integrated Healthcare program was 69. However, practices in the lowest socioeconomic areas only scored a mean of 62, whereas practices in the highest socioeconomic areas scored a mean of 76. Socioeconomic status of the practice’s location does not factor into quality performance measures for Integrated Healthcare pay-for-performance participants.
Authors of the study suggest pay-for-performance programs should factor in a practice’s socioeconomic status to reduce gaps. Additionally, the authors suggest studying outlying physician practices that perform exceedingly well in lower socioeconomic areas to learn how to improve patient care in lower income communities.
More Articles Related to Quality Measures:
Healthcare Leaders Discuss Key Concepts to Police, Improve and Measure Quality
HHS Launches Healthcare Performance Tracking Tool
38 Benchmarks for Hospital Outpatient and Inpatient Quality Reporting Measures
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
