Evaluation of Performance Incentives Published
A team of researchers, from Duke and Johns Hopkins, completed an evaluation of pay-for-performance effects on medical care. The team evaluated the 54 hospitals included in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) pilot project for the incentive driven program. The study was published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The researchers evaluated data from the pilot participants. They also compared findings from the pilot facilities to other hospitals, who were not paticipants in the pay-for-performance pilot program.
As a group, the pilot centers implemented some program improvements and cost saving strategies. However, these were equivalent to strides made at facilities without performance remuneration.
The authors caution that the evaluation considered a pilot project from CMS. A second consideration is that the participating facilities were already performing at high levels, which may skew findings. Incremental performance improvements would be more challenging to detect.
While the findings may raise some eyebrows, this is actually an opportunity to revise the program guidelines before CMS implements the national pay-for-performance program. Other potential modifications may include the level of reimbursement for improved outcomes, which the study authors noted to be low.
Related stories:
- Report Describes Performance Incentive Program
- Rewards Hinge on Safety and Quality
- CMS Releases Measurement Criteria
- Assessment of Medicare Pay-for-Performance Incentive
June 6, 2007 Related topics: Finance, Quality, Safety, Errors