Description
As I read through this White Paper on Whole System Measures, I was surprised that there was not more emphasis on the outcome measures that are being used for payment purposes through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA requires organizations the measure incidents of pressure ulcers, and hospital acquired infections that could be considered “Adverse Events” as noted in this article, but I was surprised that they were not discussed in more detail. The ACA also ties payment to patient satisfaction and re-hospitalizations within 30 days or discharge. While there are many things that define quality, these measures are being tied to payment for services and penalizing those organizations that do not meet the standards. In my opinion, tying performance to payment is much more effective than regulations because it actually impacts organizations where it hurts. Does that make sense?
