A new study examines whether patients seeing physicians participating in a "pay-for-performance" incentive program receive better care than those who saw non-participating physicians. The health plan that was examined reimburses physicians based on the quality of care they provide.

This study finds a strong correlation between quality of patient care and physician participation in a quality-based incentive program. This association grew even stronger over time, with patients who saw program-member doctors exclusively during the trial period experiencing significantly better quality of care than those that did not.

Looking at eleven evidence-based quality indicators, such as screening for a number of different cancers, the study provides a comparison between traditional and quality-based payment assessments over a six-year period.

"The concept of reimbursing providers based - at least in part - on the quality of care is not only a novel approach that is gaining popularity within the health care sector, but an innovation that may have the potential to improve the quality of care," says Dr. Antonio P. Legorreta, lead author of the study.



This study is published in Health Services Research.

Antonio P. Legorreta, M.D., M.P.H., is an Affiliate of the Department of Health Services, in the School of Public Health at UCLA.

Health Services Research (HSR) provides those engaged in research, public policy formulation, and health services management with the latest findings, methods, and thinking on important policy and practice issues. Providing a forum for the expansion of knowledge of the financing, organization, delivery, and outcomes of health services, HSR also allows practitioners and students alike to exchange ideas that will help to improve the health of individuals and communities. HSR published on behalf of Health Research and Educational Trust in cooperation with AcademyHealth. For more information, please visit blackwell-synergy/loi/hesr.

Source: Sean Wagner
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.