New Quality Recognition Program
As the value-based approach to health care delivery continues to evolve, it is important for cardiovascular physicians to influence this process of performance assessment. In an attempt to improve quality and moderate costs, health plans have been motivated to develop mechanisms to identify quality physicians through recognition programs or tiered networks. For this reason, the Heart Rhythm Society has been collaborating with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and other cardiovascular medical societies to develop a practice-level recognition program designed specifically to identify quality in cardiovascular practices. This program is called the Cardiovascular Recognition Program (CVRP).
The CVRP is designed to:
- Establish relevant goals and targets for cardiovascular specialists and their practices to achieve;
- Provide a road map to guide performance improvement and practice transformation strategies;
- Bring consistency to market by standardizing the methodology for how cardiovascular practices are assessed and recognized.
The CRVP will help to identify cardiovascular practices that demonstrate a commitment to the delivery of quality care while providing clear direction about opportunities for improvement. The initial components of the recognition program include the following categories:
- Commitment to quality,
- Commitment to professionalism,
- Commitment to life-long learning, and
- Commitment to patient-centered care.
The CVRP is intended to be an evolving program that will change over time to stimulate improvement and raise the bar for quality cardiovascular care. The first version of the program is designed to set a baseline. Subsequent versions will include additional and more specific elements, including intermediate outcome measures.
For more information on this program, please read the Executive Summary of the CVRP (PDF, 92K)
CVRP Pilot — Request for Applications
When the CVRP program was ready to be pilot-tested, it solicited applications from practices interested in participating. The goal of the pilot sample was be representative of a variety of cardiology practices today: small, medium, large, urban, rural, academic, hospital-based, private, with and without electronic medical records, etc. The target number of practices in the pilot was 20, with the expectation that approximately 250 cardiologists will be represented in those 20 practices.
