FierceHealthcareFierceHealthITFierceHealthFinanceFierceEMRHospital ImpactFierceMobileHealthcare   FiercePharma

TX doctors slam quality ratings system

Tools
Tags
BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS)
health plans
Blue Cross and Blue Shield
death rates
quality ratings

The Texas Medical Association is not pleased. Leaders of the 41,000 physician trade group have fired off a broadside sharply criticizing the new physician rating system proposed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. The 3.3 million member health plan plans to create a Web-based physician ratings offering, scheduled to go live on January 1, which will use dark blue, light blue and gray ribbons to indicate the extent to which a given physician complies with evidence-based practices. The ratings system will use 36 evidence-based practice guidelines. However, angry physicians say that the data BCBS is using seems to be flawed, giving some doctors low marks when the physicians' own records show that they do follow proper practices. BCBS has agreed to hold off on releasing the ratings until it works things out with the medical association.

To learn more about the ratings issue:
- check out the medical association's statement detailing its complaints
- read this Modern Healthcare piece

Related Articles:
MDs sue health plan on quality ratings. Report
MA lists death rates for individual heart doctors. Report

Comments

I have only seen and used the Physician rating system where the PATIENT rates a Physician or Medical Group or both. Luckily, I have an excellent PCP, am disabled and go to a Medical Group that accepts all insurance plans and patients on Medicare Plans, both Advantage and straight Medicare Plans.

It sounds like the Physicians don't like to hear the truth about the quality or lack thereof of the care they offer. I have had problems with my Insurance Provider, but together, we have worked to resolve the problem or problems that have arosen over the years due to me being disabled, suffering from chronic pain syndromes, most doctors seem to never have heard of. The worst are the Emergency Department Physicans as they seem to be on the bottom run of the education ladder when it comes to some of the chronic pain syndromes and as I leave, will hand me a pre-printed sheet on chronic pain, not even the pain condition I suffer from. It's very frustrating as a patient to work with doctors who undermedicate our pain, refuse to call our Pain Management Physicians to find adequate doses to treat our flare ups, and then treat us like drug addicts.

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

More information about formatting options

To combat spam, please enter the code in the image.