Health Plans
A Health Services Research study found that physicians' participation in a pay-for-performance program improves the quality of care for PPO members.
The study analyzed administrative claims data provided by the Hawaii Medical Services Association on the usage of medical services by members of a PPO plan that offers a pay-for-performance option for physicians. Over six years, the number of members who visited only participating physicians increased by 7%, while the number who visited non-participating physicians dropped by 13 percentage points.
The study's findings suggest that quality-based financial inventive programs can significantly improve the quality of care for health plan members that select physicians in quality-improvement programs (Gilmore et al., Health Services Research, December 2007).