Quality measurement programs could shortchange physicians caring for at-risk patients
Wednesday, September 8, 2010 - 07:00
in Health & Medicine
Evaluating the quality of care delivered by individual physicians without accounting for such factors as their patients' socioeconomic status or insurance coverage risks undervaluing the work of those caring for a higher proportion of vulnerable patients. In the Sept. 8 Journal of the American Medical Association a team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers describe finding that primary care physicians' rankings on common quality measures appear to be associated with the characteristics of the patients they care for. Adjusting physician rankings based on patient characteristics significantly changed the quality rankings for many physicians...