Quality in the outpatient setting seems to be a topic that is getting more and more attention in the specialty arena. Some of my primary care colleagues have been looking at their quality of outpatient care for several years now.

If the recent New York Times article is any indication, it seems to me that the insurers will steer patients to physicians and practices that can demonstrate their quality.  The article discusses the increasing demand for health plans that limit patient options for providers to save on costs. The article states:

One way insurers say they hope to prevent ... consumer backlash is by emphasizing that they are not choosing doctors on price alone. The insurers say they look to see how quickly a doctor’s patients recover from surgery, for example. But how much the insurers emphasize quality remains to be seen.

The problem (or, more accurately, ONE OF the problems) with this is that frequently physicians get assigned “quality” by measures that are not created by doctors, or maybe were created by doctors but use claims data rather than clinical data.

If we’re going to get measured, then we need to be the ones creating the measurement system. That’s why the ACC put together something called the Cardiovascular Practice Recognition Program (CVRP), which is practice-level assessment and recognition program designed specifically to identify quality in cardiovascular practice. The CVRP will establish legitimate goals and targets for cardiovascular specialists and their practices. I think this is a program that holds great promise for quantifying quality in the outpatient arena, and we’re working to refine the program even further. You can learn more about the pilot program on CardioSource.