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ACP issues guidelines for pay-for-performance programs
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 16, 2006
Pay-for-performance programs should be consistent across all health plans, including using a valid data-collection process and evidence-based criteria, the American College of Physicians recommended in a recent paper.
The paper, entitled "Linking Physician Payments to Quality Care," was the latest installment of recommendations regarding both private and public pay-for-performance programs made by the internists' organization. It's a culmination of nearly three years of research and internal policy-setting sessions, said C. Anderson Hedberg, MD, president of the American College of Physicians.
Many of the ACP's recommendations mirror the stance the AMA has taken on pay-for-performance. Both organizations say the programs should promote quality care and a better physician-patient relationship, the data reporting system should be fair and reliable, and health plans should use positive rewards significant enough to support the notion of continuous improvement.
The ACP also calls for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to change its physician payment structure to foster an easier transition into a pay-for-performance environment.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/01/16/bibf0116.htm.
