Quality Care Dangerous?
by admin on April 10, 2009
The April 8th Wall Street Journal contained an interesting editorial on the utility of “quality metrics” in health care entitled ‘Why Quality Care is Dangerous’.
Dr. Groopman, a staff writer for the New Yorker, and Dr. Hartzband are on the staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and on the faculty of Harvard Medical School.
The Obama administration is working with Congress to mandate that all Medicare payments be tied to “quality metrics.” But an analysis of this drive for better health care reveals a fundamental flaw in how quality is defined and metrics applied. In too many cases, the quality measures have been hastily adopted, only to be proven wrong and even potentially dangerous to patients.
Health-policy planners define quality as clinical practice that conforms to consensus guidelines written by experts. The guidelines present specific metrics for physicians to meet, thus “quality metrics.” Since 2003, the federal government has piloted Medicare projects at more than 260 hospitals to reward physicians and institutions that meet quality metrics. The program is called “pay-for-performance.” Many private insurers are following suit with similar incentive programs.
Continue with article on the WSJ site …
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