The Integrated Healthcare Association released a report titled Advancing Quality Through Collaboration: The California Pay for Performance Program.
The program uses performance goals encompassing three areas: clinical measures, patient experiences and investment in information technology and it involves 225 physician groups, representing 35,000 doctors who care for 6.2 million HMO patients in California. Physician groups that met performance goals in 2004 received a total of $90 million in bonus payments. Payouts based on 2005 performance will be made later this year.
Result highlights include:
- 87% of physician groups improved their clinical performance from 2003 to 2004.
- 66% of physician groups improved their patient experience scores.
- 54% increase in the number of physician groups qualifying for at least partial IT credit.
Key lessons from the report include:
- Begin by developing guiding principles upon which stakeholders can agree.
- Set ambitious long-term performance improvement objectives, but modest short-term process goals.
- Start with a limited number of measures.
- Measure, pay and report at the highest organizational level and with the largest population.
- Maintain transparency in all aspects of the program, including governance and reporting, to enhance trust among participants.
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