Physician Practices Encouraged to Apply for Incentive Program
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning in 2008, physicians in
and around the Research Triangle Area (RTA) who provide top-quality care
will receive compensation for quality thanks to the RTA Health Care
Collaborative, a group of forward-thinking local employers, health plans,
physicians, and others. The Collaborative is implementing an initiative
known as the Bridges to Excellence (BTE) program -- a nationally-recognized
effort developed by employers, physicians, health care services,
researchers, and other industry experts -- that provides compensation to
physicians for meeting rigorous quality standards for key aspects of care.
RTA Health Care Collaborative members -- Cisco, IBM, GlaxoSmithKline,
Duke Energy, and Belk -- believe that encouraging higher quality care will
result in better patient outcomes in a cost-effective manner. Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of North Carolina, CIGNA HealthCare, and United Healthcare
are also participating in the Collaborative. The North Carolina Medical
Society also participated in the development of the program and supports
the efforts of the Collaborative.
The Bridges to Excellence program applies nationally-recognized,
evidenced-based standards to the physician practice environment. Physicians
may achieve recognition in three areas to be eligible for rewards. All
areas employ standards established by the National Committee on Quality
Assurance (NCQA):
-- Diabetes care
-- Heart-stroke care
-- Physician office practices (e.g. electronic records)
North Carolina is among the first major markets to implement these
three BTE pay-for-performance programs in three practice areas
simultaneously. "With the addition of the metro Raleigh-Durham and
Charlotte markets, Bridges to Excellence continues to be the largest
national pay-for-performance program and will have a positive impact on
millions of Americans in urban and rural counties," said Francois de
Brantes, president of Bridges of Excellence. The total rewards available to
physicians in the state of North Carolina will be more than $5 million.
Physicians may apply for BTE certification by providing documentation
that the recommended standards of care are being followed. The NCQA and BTE
web sites provide physicians with specific application procedures and
assistance. Many community physicians are becoming certified across the
nation, as BTE has been implemented in 17 markets with 3,000 physicians.
The Collaborative plans to implement three BTE programs by the end of
2007 and to begin compensating physicians in first quarter 2008. North
Carolina is among the three largest markets across 18 states to implement
BTE.
"These leading employers are not just implementing the BTE program to
improve health care value for their employees and families, but they are
also implementing the program to raise the quality of care for their
customers as well," said Ches Gwinn, Health Care Collaborative project
manager with Aon Consulting.
Through the Collaborative, participating employers will compensate
certified physicians who are NCQA-certified and meet certain additional
criteria. Physician compensation will be based on the number of employees
and dependents covered by participating employers who are treated by each
physician or group. The eligible employees and dependents must reside
within the six specified Research Triangle Area counties: Orange, Durham,
Chatham, Franklin, Johnston, and Wake.
"The RTA Health Care Collaborative is poised to make a difference in
the quality and cost of health care in the RTA area," said Genie Komives,
MD, senior medical director at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North
Carolina. "Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has found the
Bridges to Excellence model to be the right approach to health care quality
incentives. By adopting Bridges to Excellence, the collaborative is in step
with a national movement that is proving to be successful."
Chris Viehbacher, president, US Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline,
agrees. "Chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes, are causing
health care costs to soar while patients' health declines." He suggests a
three-part solution to provide better care and lower costs: preventive
efforts that keep people healthy, proper medical intervention when
individuals become ill, and continued innovation to find new cures and make
life-ending diseases manageable. "Bridges to Excellence attacks the real
driver of healthcare costs-chronic diseases-while empowering physicians to
counsel patients to live healthier lives and to treat them in accordance
with NCQA standards."
The BTE model has been successful in communities across the country,
including the Silicon Valley.
"The collaborative effort between Cisco, Intel, and Oracle, known as
the Silicon Valley Pay-for-Performance Consortium, was so significant that
we wanted to repeat it in another location with a large concentration of
employees," said Sharon Gibson of Cisco. "The results highlighted that the
number of physicians recognized by BTE nation-wide doubled. This approach
is a win-win for Cisco and our health care system."
"CIGNA HealthCare is a leader in providing our customers and members
with the meaningful information that they need to make appropriate health
care choices," stated Scott Josephs, MD, market medical executive for CIGNA
HealthCare in North Carolina. "We are excited to be part of the RTA
collaboration and encourage the use of Bridges to Excellence standards as
they provide a platform from which to improve care and recognize physicians
who meet or exceed agreed upon national quality measures."
"Primary care physicians routinely make patient care decisions based on
their best judgment and current treatment protocols. BTE supports the
physician by evaluating care based on disease management standards," said
Robert Horton, MD, Clinical Quality Committee Chairman, Key Physicians IPA.
To Apply for Bridges to Excellence Recognition
Physicians can obtain application and recognition information though
the NCQA website at web.ncqa.org/tabid/431/Default.aspx and BTE website at
http://www.bridgestoexcellence.org.
To Become a Member of the RTA Healthcare Collaborative
Employers and providers wishing to become active in the RTA
Collaborative can contact Ches Gwinn at 704-347-2380 for further
information.
About Bridges to Excellence
Bridges to Excellence (BTE) is a not-for-profit, coalition-based
organization created to encourage significant leaps in the quality of care
by recognizing and rewarding health care providers who demonstrate that
they deliver safe, timely, effective, and patient-centered care. BTE works
with large employers, health plans, providers and a wide range of
organizations that have a shared goal of improving quality and patient
outcomes. BTE is a member of The Partnership for Value-driven Health Care,
a group formed in late 2006 in response to U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt's call for employers to implement
the "four cornerstones of
value-driven health care." For more information visit
http://www.bridgestoexcellence.org.
SOURCE Research Triangle Area Health Care Collaborative
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Related links:
http://www.bridgestoexcellence.org
http://web.ncqa.org/tabid/431/Default.aspx
CONTACT:
Ches Gwinn of Research Triangle Area Health
Care Collaborative, +1-704-347-2380
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