Physician-owned surgical hospitals performed better in VBP program

Editor's Note

Medicare’s value-based purchasing (VBP) program revealed superior performance associated with physician owned surgical hospitals in this study.

Researchers analyzed 3,089 hospitals that included physician-owned surgical, University HealthSystem Consortium, US News & World Report Honor Roll, Kaiser Permanente, and Accountable Care Organization hospitals.

Estimated mean total performance scores were significantly higher for physician-owned surgical hospitals (64.4) and Kaiser Permanente hospitals (60.79), compared to all remaining hospitals. University HealthSystem Consortium hospitals performed well below the mean (36.8).

Scores did not change after adjusting for differences in hospital case mix.

The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program measures value of care provided by participating Medicare hospitals while creating financial incentives for quality improvement and fostering increased transparency. Limited information is available comparing hospital performance across healthcare business models.