title: Pay for performance in neonatal-perinatal medicine--will the quality of health care improve in the neonatal intensive care unit? A business model for improving outcomes in the neonatal intensive care unit.
abstract: Because neonatal medicine is such an expensive contributor to health care in the United States--with a small population of infants accounting for very high health care costs--there has been a fair amount of attention given to this group of patients. An idea that has received increasing attention in this discussion is pay for performance. This article discusses the concept of pay for performance, examines what potential benefits and risks exist in this model, and investigates how it might achieve the desired goals if implemented in a thoughtful way.
authors.affiliation: The Center for Research, Education, and Quality, Pediatrix Medical Group, 1301 Concord Terrace, Sunrise, FL, USA. Alan_Spitzer@pediatrix.com
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Spitzer
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal / Q000191:economics*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009359:Neonatology / Q000191:economics*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012052:Reimbursement, Incentive; D014481:United States