For many of us change is a difficult process. In organizations like healthcare it seems to advance at a snails pace sometimes. There is a need for change in healthcare, most agree, though we would be hard pressed to agree upon the changes needed. One incentive for change is pay-for-performance programs now beginning in several areas. I would like to describe a couple that affect primary care physicians and then give a few suggestions as to how to adopt changes to take advantage of these programs. Even if you are not in a primary care physician program, the methods suggested for change will be helpful, I believe.
In 2006 Medicare plans to institute a pay-for-performance program at the primary care physician level. Right now a model is being tested and seems to be doing quite well. In several states Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations are testing pay-for- performance programs. Here in West Michigan, Priority Health, a healthcare insurer, has promoted such a program for over five years. How does this work, you may ask? Priority Health, for example, funds the program for each of its patients a set amount. Doctors who meet a requirement of the program for a patient are...