Blue Cross rewards quality care, patient perceptions

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island has launched a new program that provides financial incentives for hospitals to provide high-quality patient care.

The Hospital Quality Program relies on hospital metrics that measure treatment quality for conditions and assess patient perceptions regarding their healthcare experience, the insurer said in a Nov. 8 statement. The program's goal is to calculate whether improved healthcare outcomes, lives saved, and healthcare delivery dollars saved are tied to the quality financial incentives for hospitals, notes the Providence Business News.

Blue Cross wants hospitals to meet quality measures in three forms--care for specific categories, including heat attacks, heart failure, pneumonia and surgical infections; patient perceptions and satisfaction, including responsiveness of hospital staff, pain management, and cleanliness; and best practices for hospital discharge, including medication reconciliation and schedule outpatient follow-up appointments, PBN reports.

Ninety percent of hospitals in Rhode Island have already signed on to the program, which tracks all patients, not just Blue Cross members, according to the article.

To learn more:
- read the Providence Business News article
- check out the press release