title: Costs associated with data collection and reporting for diabetes quality improvement in primary care practices: a report from SNOCAP-USA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Information about the costs and experiences of collecting and reporting quality measure data are vital for practices deciding whether to adopt new quality improvement initiatives or monitor existing initiatives.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six primary care practices from Colorado's Improving Performance in Practice program participated. We conducted structured key informant interviews with Improving Performance in Practice coaches and practice managers, clinicians, and staff and directly observed practices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Practices had 3 to 7 clinicians and 75 to 300 patients with diabetes, half had electronic health records, and half were members of an independent practice association. The estimated per-practice cost of implementation for the data collection and reporting for the diabetes quality improvement program was approximately $15,552 per practice (about $6.23 per diabetic patient per month). The first-year maintenance cost for this effort was approximately $9,553 per practice ($3.83 per diabetic patient per month).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cost of implementing and maintaining a diabetes quality improvement effort that incorporates formal data collection, data management, and reporting is significant and quantifiable. Policymakers must become aware of the financial and cultural impact on primary care practices when considering value-based purchasing initiatives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, USA. David.West@ucdenver.edu
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Tiffany A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Radcliff
authors.forename: Tiffany
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Murray J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cote
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: W Perry
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Dickinson
mesh_terms: D003120:Colorado; D003625:Data Collection / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000191:economics* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States