Newswise — The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) announced the conclusion of the inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee of AMGA's Results-Based Payment System Initiative (RPS). The RPS is a multi-year endeavor to consider (a) the current, flawed reimbursement model in America's healthcare delivery system, (b) the premises and barriers to designing and creating a new reimbursement system based upon the receipt of quality in care, and (c) the development of strategies that will lead to the implementation of a results-based reimbursement system.
The RPS Steering Committee, comprise of influential thought leaders from various sectors of health care, gathered in Washington, D.C. to define the vision, the elements, and the goals of a results-based payment system. The broader aim of the initiative is to support enhancements in health by developing new incentive systems for practitioners in which a significant portion of compensation is linked to results of health care linked to quality measures. America's current payment system for health care is based upon paying for services delivered without recognition of whether the care is outstanding, average, or poor. Said otherwise, Practitioner A and Practitioner B are reimbursed identically for delivering the same services, regardless of the differences in the quality of care they deliver. Additionally, there is no recognition or reward for the timeliness, appropriateness, or outcome of the care delivered. Guest speakers for the Committee's first meeting included USDHHS Secretary Michael Leavitt and Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Secretary Leavitt spoke regarding his vision for improving health care in America, with a strong emphasis on the formation of "networks" to promote excellence through collaboration, as well as the inclusion of interoperability for information technology as a critical factor in improving the quality of care, reducing errors, and managing costs. Gingrich's remarks highlighted the need for aggressive action to transform the Federal government from a "bureaucratic public administration to an entrepreneurial public management" entity that would both encourage and reward innovation and evidence-based medicine.
The Committee meeting began with a presentation by AMGA Board Chair Kenneth P. Brin, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Cardiology, Wilkes-Barre, Geisinger Health System, who vividly demonstrated the effectiveness of results-based standards when compared with their absence, specifically in relation to the management of two similar cardiac patients. Dr. Brin focused on the enhanced levels of care, choices in clinical management, patient satisfaction, and outcomes in a results-based care environment.
For this first meeting, the Committee focused on defining the vision, the elements, and the goals of a results-based payment system. While acknowledging the many barriers currently in place that could impede the process of designing such a system, the committee energetically provided ideas on near- and mid-range activities that could begin to build the framework for a redesign of the healthcare system. At their next meeting, the Committee will examine further the factors and elements supporting a practical consideration of designing a results-based payment system.
"This meeting brought together some of the most respected thought leaders in health care who began the process of transforming today's payment system into one that is aligned with process and outcomes," said Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., AMGA's President and CEO. "We look forward to the continued work of the Steering Committee in seeking a more rational and transparent alternative to the current system."
The members of the Steering Committee include:
"¢ Charles Beever, M.B.A., Vice President and Partner, Booz Allen Hamilton"¢ Robert Berenson, M.D., Senior Fellow, Urban Institute"¢ Carolyn Clancy, M.D., Administrator, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, DHHS"¢ Jay Crosson, M.D., Executive Director, The Permanente Federation"¢ Alain Enthoven, Ph.D., Marriner S. Eccles Professor of Public and Private Management, Stanford Institute for International Studies"¢ Paul Ginsburg, Ph.D., President, Center for Studying Health Change"¢ Margaret Gunter, Ph.D., President and Executive Director, Lovelace Clinic Foundation"¢ Uwe Reinhardt, Ph.D., James Madison Professor of Political Economy, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University"¢ Stephen Shortell, Ph.D., Dean, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley"¢ Barry Straube, M.D., Acting Chief Medical Officer and Director, Office of Clinical Standards and Quality, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, USDHHS"¢ John Wennberg, M.D., Director, Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth, Professor of Community and Family Medicine (Epidemiology) and of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School"¢ Gail Wilensky, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Project Hope"¢ Nicholas Wolter, M.D., Chief Executive Officer, Deaconess Billings Clinic
The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents medical groups, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the multispecialty medical group model of healthcare delivery and for the patients served by medical groups through innovation and information sharing, benchmarking, leadership development, and continuous striving to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver health care to more than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 million capitated lives. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. For more information, visit http://www.amga.org.
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