Pay-for-Performance Effective Incentive

A study published in the January/February 2010 issue of the Journal for Healthcare Quality reveals that pay-forperformance (P4P) programs are effective in incentivizing low-performing physicians. The study investigated the impact of P4P in a preferred provider organization (PPO) on low-performing physicians over a four-year period. Results showed that the P4P program improved quality of care especially for selected quality measures, such as mammography, cervical cancer screening and childhood immunization measures. The low-performing physicians using P4P improved significantly more than the comparison group that did not implement a P4P program. In addition, the study found that the positive benefit of the P4P program may not be realized until the third or fourth year, highlighting the importance of sustaining P4P over longer periods of time.