A pay-for-performance program implemented at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School appeared to have a marked effect on expediting final radiology report turnaround times, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Increasingly used both by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and by third-party payers, pay for performance attempts to address variation in quality and performance through the use of pay-for-performance programs. Individuals or organizations entering such agreements are essentially compensated through one of two mechanisms: a straight bonus that rewards providers with additional payments for achieving stipulated performance targets or the placement of a percentage of contracted provider revenue that is directly at risk if these targets are not met.
The radiology pay-for-performance program was used to assess its impact on radiology report turnaround times for all departmental reports from 11 subspecialty divisions. Study periods were three months before (baseline period) and immediately after (immediate period) the introduction of the program and two years later after the program had terminated (postperiod).Three turnaround time components were evaluated for individual radiologists and each radiology division: examination completion to final signature, exam completion to preliminary signature, and preliminary signature to final signature.
The mean time for all three measured components was significantly reduced, with the largest decrease in the time between preliminary signatures and final signatures, according to Giles W. L. Boland, MD, lead author of the study. Radiology report turnaround time decreased by approximately two thirds between the baseline and postperiod.
“Rapid completion and ready availability of final radiology reports is considered an essential and important clinical quality metric. Pay-for-performance incentives designed to motivate academic radiologists to alter their behavior and perform expeditious finalized signature of preliminary reports appear to be successful,” says Boland.
— Source: American Roentgen Ray Society