New Pay-for-Performance Report Sees Quality Gaps, Benefits of IT
Although clinical performance varies across California, health information technology adoption is associated with higher levels of clinical quality statewide, according to the Integrated Healthcare Association's latest report on its pay-for-performance program, Modern Healthcare reports (Vesely, Modern Healthcare, 8/26).
IHA's program is the largest nongovernmental physician incentive program in the U.S. It includes eight health plans and more than 225 medical groups.
For its latest report, the group compared average composite scores across eight California regions for:
- Clinical quality;
- Coordinated diabetes care;
- Health IT capacity; and
- Patient experience.
Regional Variation
IHA's evaluation finds that the Sacramento and San Francisco Bay regions performed above state averages for all four factors, while the Los Angeles and Inland Southern California regions fell short of the averages.
Despite regional performance variation, specific health care provider organizations in each region achieved the highest levels of performance (IHA release, 8/27).
Overall, health care providers statewide improved in six out of seven clinical quality measures, the report notes (Modern Healthcare, 8/26).
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