A new report from a local quality organization suggests that while Massachusetts primary care physicians rank well when it comes to preventive care and management of chronic conditions, they're not quite as good at managing spending, and outcomes could be better. The Massachusetts Health Quality Partners report concluded that the state's doctors rank higher than the national average on 24 of 25 quality-of-care measures, and better than the 90th percentile on almost half of the measures. However, when it came to outcome measures, there were some issues. Only one of six outcomes measured scored above the national 50th percentile--diabetic patients who properly avoid high blood glucose levels.
To learn more about the study:
- read this Boston Business Journal article [1]
- read the group's report [2]
Related Articles:
Shortage of primary care docs in MA. Report [3]
Doctor shortage slows Massachusetts health reform. Report [4]
Bill creates physician quality reporting system. Report [5]
Links:
[1] http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/03/31/daily41.html?b=1206936000^1614059
[2] http://www.mhqp.org/quality/clinical/cqMASumm.asp?nav=032400
[3] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/shortage-of-primary-care-docs-in-ma/2006-08-28
[4] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/doctor-shortage-slows-massachusetts-health-reform/2007-07-10
[5] http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/bill-creates-physician-quality-reporting-system/2006-12-11