Pay for Performance and Its Purpose - Essay Example

"Pay for Performance and Its Purpose" is a perfect example of a paper on the health system.
Pay for Performance is a program devised by the federal government, according to which doctors, hospitals, nurses etc. will be paid as per the number of patients they see and cure. Thus, doctors and other health care providers will be paid for their efficiency which features treating a good number of people in such a manner that the medicine treats and cures them. The purpose of P4P is to give the doctors an incentive to treat more patients and perform more service.  (Health Care Insurance, 2011)

Briefly describe its history and the groups or organizations associated with its development. 

Pay for Performance is not completely a new concept. From the mid-nineties, it has been utilized by people around the world. However, this time around the federal government is involved as well. Pay for Performance was developed with the help of American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Geriatrics Society, American Academy of Neurology and the Endocrine Society The above-mentioned groups/associations helped in making pay for performance better by criticizing it as well.

Describe what hospitals, physicians, and other healthcare providers are doing to prepare for pay for performance (i.e., performance improvement initiatives). 

First of all most of the doctors seem reluctant towards this change. However, some are ready for the change so they are not only gathering information and knowledge regarding pay for performance themselves but are also educating their patients so that they can get their views and can see how comfortable they are with the idea.
From the healthcare providers’ viewpoint, what issues are associated with implementing pay for performance in their organization? 

From health care providers’ point of view, implementing pay for performance in their organization might cause dissatisfaction not only among doctors but among patients as well. The doctors might run more tests in order to show they are trying to cure the patient, and the cost for the patient will increase in this way. Moreover, doctors will become reluctant to take critical cases because it will take much of their time and they might fear that they will not be rewarded properly.
Do you believe pay for performance will improve the quality of patient care and reduce healthcare cost, and why? Cite sources supporting your viewpoint. If not, why not? 

I think that Pay for Performance would not make any difference as such because if the doctors get paid to give the patients more tests then the financial burden will shift on the patient. In some cases, this might even have a negative impact on the patient. Research on hypertension patients showed that Pay for performance did not have any positive impact on hypertension. (Science Daily, 2011). Moreover, there are doctors that deal with intense cases or treat such illness where many patients are not available, this will make it difficult for them to get paid for their task and might demotivate them. (Rosenthal, 2006)
Are there more effective ways to improve patient care quality and reduce costs? Explain.

There are some more effective ways to improve patient care quality and to reduce costs. First of all, the government should keep a check on doctors just like there is an audit for firms, there should be a check on the performance of doctors as well and those who do not comply with the methods should be penalized so that others take heed. Also, the government should utilize some funds to pay healthcare charges of customers as health care is very expensive.