Influencing physician practice patterns

Today, customers are holding hospitals accountable for improving clinical outcomes and cost containment in ways that require the cooperation and collaboration of physicians. This chapter examines four strategies for influencing physician practice patterns: financial risk sharing, utilization management, performance feedback, and continuous quality improvement/total quality management (CQI/TQM). The strengths and weaknesses of each strategy are explored, along with real-life examples of how each has been successfully applied.