Physicians Practice - September 2008 - (Page 26) UNCLE SAM’S CMS has been scrutinizing your practice for more than a year through its Pay-for-Performance program. But how is the program itself performing? BY SHIRLEY GRACE They had a strong team. A patientcentered operating model. An EMR that they wanted to incorporate more into the practice. So why not, thought the leaders of Dover Orthopaedic Center last year. Why not participate in Medicare’s pay-for-performance program, and report on work they were already doing? They’d gain some valuable practice in the program before it likely becomes mandatory (and starts penalizing doctors for making reporting mistakes), and they could cash in on the government-offered bonus of up to 1.5 percent of their total Medicare billing. The 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, or PQRI, seemed to be a good fit for this four-physician practice situated south of Akron, Ohio. So confident was the group that it signed up for the 2008 program as well. So far, it’s generally pleased with PQRI but reserving judgment until it has more experience — and its promised bonus. But what about the rest of the country’s physicians? How many partook of this so-far optional incentive program offered by the federal government? Are their thumbs up or down? And should your practice take part, too? EXAM
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