Physician organization and care management in California: from cottage to Kaiser.
Data from a survey of practicing physicians in California's thirteen largest urban counties were used to ascertain differences in care management processes, financial incentives for quality, and practice pressures by type of practice setting. Physicians in the Permanente medical groups have adopted and value quality-oriented, system-level care management tools to a much greater degree than physicians in independent practice association (IPA) networks or traditional "cottage-industry" practices. Our findings raise disturbing questions about how the health system will close the "quality chasm" in medical care without transforming the underlying organization of physician practices.
Rittenhouse
Diane R
DR
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. DianeR@itsa.ucsf.edu
Grumbach
Kevin
K
O'Neil
Edward H
EH
Dower
Catherine
C
Bindman
Andrew
A
D002140:California; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006302:Health Services Research; D007193:Independent Practice Associations; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014505:Urban Population