New York Health Plan Association Council, Inc.

A landmark study found that, for many illnesses, patients receive appropriate care only 50% of the time. Treatment errors contribute to needless injuries and deaths and high costs in the health care system. As a result, public and private purchasers have been motivated to institute pay-for-performance programs. These programs give financial incentives for safe, effective, timely, and patient-centered care that focuses on the transparency of quality services. In 2007, the New York Health Plan Association (HPA) set out to partner with the New York Business Group on Health, the P2 Collaborative of Western New York, several health plans, and individual physician practices to provide them with access to Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set data, which measures performance on care and service. To further support efforts to measure and reward quality care, the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth) awarded HPA a grant to create the New York Quality Alliance (NYQA) Physician Portal, which built on NYQA’s measurement, reporting, and pay-for-performance initiative.

A landmark study found that, for many illnesses, patients receive appropriate care only 50% of the time. Further treatment errors contribute to needless injuries and deaths and high costs in the health care system. As a result, public and private purchasers have been motivated to institute pay-for-performance programs. These programs give financial incentives for safe, effective, timely, and patient-centered care that focuses on the transparency of quality services provided by health care providers.

The NYQA Physician Portal project builds on the New York Quality Alliance’s measurement, reporting and pay-for-performance initiative. Physicians will have the ability, through a secure Web portal, to compare new information about patients against their complete medical records. Physicians can identify incorrect or missing information and will be given “actionable reports” that identify patients who are in need of tests or screening likely to improve care. The corrective process and provision of “actionable reports” addresses physician concerns about data validity and provides tools that—if utilized—can result in higher quality care.