Transformation of Health Care at the Front Line
- Patrick H. Conway, MD, MSc;
- Carolyn Clancy, MD
- Author Affiliations: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Maryland (Drs Conway and Clancy); US Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC (Drs Conway and Clancy); and Center for Health Care Quality and Division of Health Policy and Clinical Effectiveness and Division of General Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio (Dr Conway).
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- DELIVERY OF HEALTH CARE
- EDUCATION, MEDICAL
- HEALTH CARE SYSTEM REFORM
- QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE
- REIMBURSEMENT MECHANISMS
- REIMBURSEMENT, INCENTIVE
Concern about escalating costs and the quality of health care delivered in the United States continues to mount.1 This has led to an increasing focus on pay-for-performance, value-driven health care and public reporting of quality and cost information. However, several authors have questioned the effectiveness of pay for performance and public reporting to improve patients' outcomes and have highlighted the potential for unintended negative consequences.2,3,4,5,6 Currently, frontline clinicians are exposed to disparate pay-for-performance programs that are often uncoordinated and not clearly aligned with producing better outcomes for patients.2,6 Evidence is produced at an astonishing rate, but its incorporation into clinical practice is difficult.
For patients, the current transparency efforts often have little useful information for decisions regarding a specific disease and selection of clinician or treatment option.7 However, policy makers and purchasers are faced with an …
