title: Does value-based purchasing enhance quality of care and patient outcomes in the ICU?
abstract: As health care expenditures increase, payers, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, are moving away from reimbursement based on types and volume of services to an emphasis on quality of provided care, an approach called value-based purchasing (VBP). Because it is tied to reimbursement, VBP creates economic motivation to measure and improve care. VBP is proceeding without high-level evidence supporting its effectiveness in improving health care quality. Rising health care costs, however, make VBP an attractive approach for curtailing costs and emphasizing improved quality, and VBP is likely to become a more prevalent mechanism of reimbursement for providers and facilities.
authors.affiliation: Quality and Patient Safety, Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, OH 43214, USA. Jobrien4@ohiohealth.com
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Anupam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Metersky
mesh_terms: D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D003363:Cost Control / Q000379:methods; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000639:trends; D006284:Health Plan Implementation; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D012052:Reimbursement, Incentive / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States; D062505:Value-Based Purchasing / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends