NEJM study looks at pay for performance, public reporting outcomes

According to a new study by the New England Journal of Medicine, the Premier Hospital Quality Incentive Program (Medicare’s largest value-based purchasing demonstration for hospitals) did not reduce 30-day mortality more than hospital quality reporting alone.

30-day mortality rates were looked at for a range of conditions (including cardiac issues and pneumonia) from 2003 to 2009. The study examined over six million cases among more than 6 million patients treated for heart attack, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, or coronary-artery bypass grafting between 2003 and 2009. Researchers found that no discernable difference resulted in between cases where outcomes were linked to incentives versus those that were not.

The New England Journal of Medicine report can be found online here.