Group names top CA medical groups

The Integrated Healthcare Association, a California-based group including health plans, medical groups and health systems, has released a list of the top-performing medical groups among the 228 medical practices participating in its pay-for-performance program. The IHA named 46 groups, or 20 percent, as meeting top standards for quality, patient satisfaction and appropriate use of information technology. The ratings come from an analysis of 2005 measurement year, and included data from about 40,000 physicians and 12 million patients. For the first time, Kaiser Permanente groups participated in reporting results, though Kaiser physicians didn't get financial bonuses.

IHA's P4P program is supported by seven health plans, including Aetna Healthcare of California, Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, CIGNA HealthCare of California, Health Net of California, PacifiCare of California and Western Health advantage. The plans said that physicians in the program improved care quality on several criteria in 2005, testing 12,000 more patients for diabetes, 60,000 more women for cervical cancer and administering 30,000 more immunizations to children.

For more background on IHA's ratings:
- read this article in the Sacramento Business Journal

Related Article:
In an exclusive Q&A, Blue Cross of California's Dr. Michael Belman discusses how his firm makes their P4P program work. The WellPoint division has paid out $66 million in P4P incentives to date. Interview

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