Primary Care Docs Say Metrics Hurt Patient Care
Half of the nation’s primary care physicians say the increased use of quality-of-care metrics to assess provider performance is having a negative impact on patient care, according to a survey report from The Commonwealth Fund and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Twenty-two percent see quality metrics as having a positive impact on quality.
Similarly, 52 percent say that programs that impose financial penalties for unnecessary admissions or readmissions are having a negative effect on quality. Just 12 percent say such programs are having a positive effect.
Primary care physicians feel more positive about the use of health information technology: 50 percent see the advance of health IT as having a positive impact on practices’ ability to provide quality care to their patients.