AAFP tackles pay for performance

The American Academy of Family Physicians discussed the ups and downs of pay-for-performance programs at its recent Scientific Assembly. From MedScape:

Despite the concerns that the medical community has expressed about the burgeoning pay-for-performance (P4P) movement -- lack of standardized measures, the burden of data collection, and the "nonquality" factors driving the model -- family physicians should prepare to participate in P4P programs for the noneconomic benefits their practices may accrue, according to Bruce Bagley, MD, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) medical director for quality improvement.





"The point is to encourage physicians to start collecting [performance] data prospectively --whether they're using a paper-based checklist or a computerized method," Dr. Bagley said, because performance measurement is clearly on the rise and family physicians in even nonurban U.S. regions are likely to see P4P programs emerge in the near future.