The American College of Physicians analyzed components of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System finding many of them fail to improve patient care, while some put older patients at risk, Medscape reports.
Here's what you should know.
1. More than half of the 86 relevant ambulatory medicine measures were invalid or of uncertain validity.
2. The group took particular issue with a measure requiring blood pressures of under 140/90 mm Hg for all patients. They said, "Forcing blood pressure down to this threshold could harm frail elderly adults and patients with certain coexisting conditions."
3. They also criticized a pain management measure they believe will promote opioid use.
4. The study petitioned for a "time-out" to revisit and revise the measures.
5. This is not the first time MIPS measures have been met with criticism. In a related survey, 63 percent of physicians said the measures would inaccurately assess the quality of their care, while costing approximately $40,000 per physician to capture the data required for the measure.
6. The group's paper was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.