Impact of Medicare Value Programs on Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs) and Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs)

The penalties and bonuses assessed under Medicare’s current hospital Pay for Performance (P4P) programs focus an unprecedented amount of attention on a limited set of performance metrics; this intense emphasis may create unintended consequences for areas that lie outside the focus of these programs. We propose to see how the introduction of these hospital P4P programs may have affected a range of quality and safety areas, especially areas outside the focus of the programs, using AHRQ’s inpatient quality indicators (IQIs) and patient safety indicators (PSIs). Our timely analyses will identify and quantify potential unintended effects of Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP), and Hospital Value Based Purchasing (HVBP) program on areas and populations outside the focus of these programs.