Proven methods to achieve high payment for performance

Clinical performance measures and cost per episode of care are key ingredients of healthcare "value" and are increasingly being viewed as belonging in the public domain. "Pay for performance" (P4P) programs reward high performance of clinical "processes" and "outcome" measures, in particular for those related to chronic disease, patient satisfaction, patient safety, use of information technology, and other measures. At the core of the Advocate Health Partners clinical integration approach are specific practice interventions linked with clinical performance targets and supported by an incentive P4P program. Techniques of improvement include the use of registries of patients with specific conditions; clinicalprotocols; patient outreach with education tools and reminders; office staff training programs; physician continuing medical education; ongoing performance feedback; and an incentive program that rewards individual performance as well as collaboration among hospitals, physician hospital organizations, and peers.