Robert A. Berenson, MD, and Deborah R. Kaye, MD, recently published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine on determining the value of physicians.
The article, titled "Grading a Physician's Value — The Misapplication of Performance Measurement," discusses the Affordable Care Act's attempt to transition healthcare to a pay-for-performance model, beginning with physicians who participate in Medicare with the value-based payment modifier.
While the Physician Quality Reporting System was put in place more than six years ago, only 30 percent of eligible professionals report their data to CMS through the program. Physicians will be required to participate in the future, with all physicians participating in 2017 or facing a penalty.
"The meager rate of physician participation in PQRS also suggests that something is fundamentally wrong — physicians simply do not respect the measures, and for good reason," wrote the authors. "PQRS measures reflect a vanishingly small part of professional activities in most clinical specialties. A handful of such measures can provide a highly misleading snapshot of any physician's quality."
The article also outlines challenges for surgeons specifically to meet the PQRS measure, as they often relate more to infection prevention than the surgeon's contribution to producing value and don't adjust to variation in patient demographics or illness severity. The article recognizes the importance of measuring quality, but argues that the value-based payment modifier isn't the right answer.
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The article, titled "Grading a Physician's Value — The Misapplication of Performance Measurement," discusses the Affordable Care Act's attempt to transition healthcare to a pay-for-performance model, beginning with physicians who participate in Medicare with the value-based payment modifier.
While the Physician Quality Reporting System was put in place more than six years ago, only 30 percent of eligible professionals report their data to CMS through the program. Physicians will be required to participate in the future, with all physicians participating in 2017 or facing a penalty.
"The meager rate of physician participation in PQRS also suggests that something is fundamentally wrong — physicians simply do not respect the measures, and for good reason," wrote the authors. "PQRS measures reflect a vanishingly small part of professional activities in most clinical specialties. A handful of such measures can provide a highly misleading snapshot of any physician's quality."
The article also outlines challenges for surgeons specifically to meet the PQRS measure, as they often relate more to infection prevention than the surgeon's contribution to producing value and don't adjust to variation in patient demographics or illness severity. The article recognizes the importance of measuring quality, but argues that the value-based payment modifier isn't the right answer.
More Articles on Practice Management:
Why Physicians Should Use Social Media: 5 Reasons
Specialist Demand to Grow More Than Primary Care Through 2025
Top 4 Steps Physicians Take to Increase Medical Practice Revenue
