The below is an extract from the Journal of American College of Cardiology, January 2008, page 3.
Each year, the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), and other stakeholders invest enormous time and effort in understanding, testing and improving measures. While significant progress has been made (particularly with a subset know as process measure), the science of performance measurement is still in its infancy, especially at the individual practitioner level. The Health care marketplace has recently begun to use these measures, intended for quality improvement purposes, for public reporting and performance-based reimbursement. Remarkable advances in technology and expanding population of patients with multiple, complex, chronic conditions are contributing to the escalating cost of care. At the same time, studies demonstrated an uncoupling of expenditures and the health outcomes "purchased." Add to this the consumer demand for information about health care options, and you have the development of programs that use measures — mature or not — to rank physicians and link payments to performance.
PAR-4: Taking a Proactive Approach
These factors create the potential for the perfect storm: doctors and nurses disengage; patients are misinformed; health care further deteriorates; and cost soar. To help avert this scenario, the ACC has charged a task force to look at "Performance Assessment, Recognition, Reinforcement, Reward and Reporting" (PAR-4). The goal of this task force is to prepare members to excel in this environment by tackling critical issues that impact quality care and professional performance. These include cardiovascular recognition program, efficiency measurement, transparency, comparative effectiveness and patient-centered medical home implementation. Addressing theses issues now will help provide the health care marketplace with the much-needed scientific guidance necessary to ensure performance assessment is done in a way that best assesses provider performance and gives patients information they can use to make informed decisions. In addition, it allows ACC to engage in national discussion around the design of value-based health purchasing, benefits designs and reimbursement models as they related to cardiovascular specialists
What defines a Quality CV Practice?
Although all of the issues listed are important, cardiovascular recognition is an immediate priority because many payers already have in process and in print a public display of physicians ranking. Over the course of the next few months, the ACC, specially the PAR-4 task force, will develop a recommendation for the content and process for implementing a standardized cardiovascular practice recognition program that can apply across all subspecialties in the House of Cardiology.
The task force intends to produce a draft template with a menu of attributes possessed by and demonstrated in "quality" practice. Following a 30-day comment period for ACC members, we expect to complete the final template in Summer 2008. From there, the ACC will develop tools and resources for cardiovascular practices that will facilitate the achievement of "quality practice" status.
We are cardiovascular professionals. We have been measured since birth, usually by our own choosing. We seek out and thrive in highly competitive education, training and practice environment. We embrace scientifically sound performance assessment as a means guidance from the College and other key partners, our attitude toward this newest round of measurement should be "Bring it on!".
As noted, extract from the Journal of American College of Cardiology, January 2008, page 3.
