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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Laurie Fitts, MPA, Doctoral Student - Health Administration, Walden University, 301 Bradwyck Drive, Cary, NC 27513, 919-468-9447, lfitts@waldenu.edu
While health care costs continue to escalate and as managed care penetration deepens, U.S. physicians are competing for shrinking reimbursements and patients (Welch, Miller, & Welch, 1994; Coile, 1990; Dranove et. al., 1998). The current market place, as competitive as it is, has forced changes in physician contracting, thus creating changes in the methods in which services are provided to patients (Coile, 1990; Starr, 1982). Research has shown that competitive and market-driven methods impede access to care and limit consumer options (Rivers & Bae, 1999). As a result, wide variations in both cost and quality have been discovered (Raffel & Raffel, 1994). If utilized appropriately, a physician-profiling tool may help to determine if differences exist in the quality of patient care received, regardless of the competitiveness of the market in which the services are provided. If differences are discovered, improvements can be made to promote equity in quality patient care. The purpose of this study is to determine if differences exist in the quality of patient care provided by primary care physicians who practice in competitive markets as opposed to markets that have little or no competition. Common themes between the quality of patient care provided relative to practice patterns and area (market) competition can be used to educate both HMOs and physicians in order to increase consumer patient quality of care.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Quality of Care, Evaluation
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.