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Written by Patricia King
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Physician Ranking: Necessary tool for health care transparency, or scam on doctors and the public?
Over the last year, the once-esoteric topics of physician ranking and “high performance networks” have been fighting words for physicians, health insurers and the New York Attorney General. On the one hand, advocates of consumer-driven healthcare hope that when consumers have solid data comparing health care providers’ quality of care and cost effectiveness, they will make sound choices that will bring U.S. health care costs down. On the other hand, physician ranking systems built on inaccurate and incomplete data offer no benefit to consumers, and unfairly penalize physicians who are inappropriately placed in a lower tier.
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Written by Jeffrey R. Waggoner, MD
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Imagine walking across the parking lot of your supermarket. You come upon a man rolling around in agony, clutching his chest. Through teeth clenched in pain, he says, “An elephant! There is an elephant sitting on my chest.”
You step over him, muttering to your spouse, “Must be having a heart attack. Interesting. I’ve never heard anyone actually say that. The books use it as a classic complaint, but to actually hear it? Interesting. But how crass to collapse here, in the middle of the parking lot.”
You continue into the supermarket to buy your organic vegetables, angry at the man’s having inconvenienced you but not particularly concerned about his plight.
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Written by Ardena L. Flippin, MD, MBA
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Last month's commentary on physician pay-for-performance generated some interest - and is related to an article in the month's JAMA, which has received a lot of attention. The issue of the May 14 2008 JAMA, "Comparison of Change in Quality of Care Between Safety-Net and Non-Safety-Net Hospitals", commented on the "smaller gains (of safety-net hospitals) in quality performance measures over 3 years (compared to non-safety-net hospitals.) I’m not surprised that pay-for-performance doesn’t necessarily improve quality at safety-net hospitals. When will we ever admit that throwing money at a systemic problem is not the answer? What a passé cop-out in the 21st century!
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