Pay-for-performance programs garner greater participation when the rewards are higher, According to Bridges to Excellence, a national P4P initiative.
Physician response rates to rewards were assessed using BTE’s Master Physician Lists from each of its four initial pilot sites – Louisville, Ky., Cincinnati, Albany, N.Y., and Boston. An analysis shows that participation is largely a function of the size of the incentive/bonus for which a doctor is eligible.
According to BTE, this suggests that more than two-thirds of physicians in the country will respond to the incentives offered by the HITECH portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act because they represent a “significant” incentive. But participation is likely to be skewed toward practices with more than three physicians.
BTE recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services support smaller practices with technical assistance in addition to the financial incentives in order to ensure the broadest possible participation.
