Exposing Physicians' Comparative Performance

Ransom, E. R., Joshi, M. S., Nash, D. B., & Ransom, S. B. (Eds.). (2008). The healthcare quality

When it comes to health care in the United States, the initial thought many people have are the many growing controversies concerning Obamacare, vaccinations, and making sure all Americans have access to affordable and quality health care. However, what many people fail to realize is a certain aspect in the medical community that, since the early 80’s with the infamous study by Berkman and Frankel, is increasing at such a tremendous rate that the Columbia Medical Review has referred to it as an “epidemic in the medical community.” The statistics regarding the number of individuals who die each year due to medical errors is rising; slowly becoming a major concern in the field. Doctors are busy individuals and at the end of the day still

Substandard quality of health care is duly recognized as a major form of medical crises with potential to jeopardize the functioning and purpose of the American health care system. Whereas on the one hand medical costs of treatment are rising, on the other malpractices and non compliance on the part of medical professionals and institutions compounds the problem and seriously questions the quality of health care being provided to citizens. However, before proceeding further it is important to understand what is exactly meant by the substandard quality of care. The substandard quality of

There is a growing trend in the United States called pay-for-performance. Pay-for-performance is a system that is used where providers are compensated by payers for meeting certain pre-established measures for quality and efficiency (What is Pay-for-Performance, n.a.). We are going to be discussing what pay-for-performance is. There are different aspects of pay-for-performance which include; the effects of reimbursement by this approach, the impact cost reductions has on quality and efficiency of health care, the affects to the providers and patients, and the effects on the future of health care.

Yet, with all of this positive marketing for new surgical procedures, the lack of knowledge of potential patients is being taken advantage of on a routine basis. Hospital administrators are now trying to find more ways to get their physicians to get more work in order to add to the hospital's bottom line. Physicians are feeling the pressure from management to get as much work done as possible and they are burning themselves out (Health Care Fraud 1).

Quality health care is an issue in America for everyone, despite our numerous tests and advances in technology. In his article, “Overkill,” Atul Gawande argues against a common assumption that our healthcare system is the best because of these medical advances. In fact, Gawande claims that our health care provides much unnecessary care that often causes harm and that costs a lot . He follows that claim by redefining “low-value care” as “no-value care” and provides considerable scientific data along with his own experience with his own patients to support his claim. He also states logical reasons by referring to expert authorities who critique our health care by viewing it from an economic perspective: like talking about information asymmetry where a doctor is more informed than the patient, thus the doctor has more power over the patient. All of these emphases strongly defend his controversial claim. But what stands out most is how Gawande uses several stories showing vastly different outcomes, depending on how informed the patient and doctor are including offering non invasive treatments. We need to explore how his unusual storytelling strategy exposes how surgeons and patients should care more about quality than the mere quantity of tests and what alternatives are available to change the unnecessary over testing and over-diagnosis which prevent good health care.

The quality of doctor care based on outcome reports, and identifying those physicians who meet state performance measures will also be provided to consumers to benefit their health and healthcare

Mistakes and errors caused by medical providers happen in the healthcare field, resulting in punitive actions against the provider. As cited by Geffken-Eddy (2011) studies by the Institute of Medicine have shown that punishment will only lead to more medical errors or providers not reporting their

Patients come to the physician because of a problem that they are having and with that notion they are prepared to give full details of their problem. Giving information to the medical staff is a

Many health care leaders, authors, and professionals have given their time and effort to write and discuss quality. Quality is now recognized as one of the key aims in healthcare today. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has had a profound impact on health care in America and the view of quality within health care facilities. The National Roundtable on Health Care Quality met six different times between 1996 and 1998 to look at changes regarding quality in health care. Within their conclusion they said, “Serious and widespread quality problems exist throughout American Medicine” (IOM, 1998). The terms underuse, overuse, and misuse evolved here to describe the errors occurring in health care. These errors were hurting more patients than the population realized and once published the trust towards healthcare was low and many had questions. Their review at the roundtable combed through what was currently the norm in health care. Based on the experience of the members of the roundtable, it was not up to par and a shift was necessary to improve healthcare outcomes.

The changes in healthcare over the last several years have been dramatic. All parties, providers, insurers, and the Federal Government are looking for ways to reduce cost and increase quality. The report by the Institute for Medicine in 1999, “To Err is Human” spurred increasing scrutiny in medical care to improve quality at same and looking for ways to reduce risk to patients and increase safety. Discussion of solutions

Lyons T. and Payne B. (1974). The quality of physicians' health-care performance: A comparison against

Medical documentation is important to know and complete properly to ensure that the office or practice you are employed with does not get flagged during an audit. Paying close attention to detail is key!

In the United States, state laws dictate the abilities and skills medical professional would need to perform in a medical professional’s scope of practice and sets the legal boundaries in which they can work within. Due to an increasing influx of patient care that is needed due to the Affordable Care Act, the scope of practice boundaries are being crossed, which in turn has turned many legislative heads but not in a positive light. Since the issues in medical errors are being brought to the fore front it has become controversial and now legislature is asking the states to look into restructuring the scope of practices in all areas the medical industry. Without restructuring patient care will continue to be poor or inadequate and litigation will continue to rise due to poor patient care, incorrect testing, ineffective specimen collection, missed diagnosis, and poor supervision and communication. Death related cases due to medical errors are the 5th largest in the United States which makes it the 5th leading cause of death in the United States. Many medical errors are actually billed and paid for by insurance companies and the physician receives payment for the errors. The United States spends billions on litigation per year and therefore restructuring the medical industry could save the United States millions of dollars per year and make for a safer over all environment for everyone.

Quality is one of the most essential elements of healthcare. As stated by the Agency of Health Research and Quality, “Everyday, millions of Americans receive high-quality health care that helps to maintain or restore their health and ability to function” (Agency of Health Research and Quality, 2014). Improvements have become vital to the success of health care organizations and in the Healthcare Quality Book, it is explained that quality in the U.S. healthcare system is not at the standard that it should be (Ransom, Joshi, Nash & Ransom, 2008). Although this has been a reoccurring issue, attempts to fix the insufficiency have been less successful than expected.