Measuring Quality of Care: A Call to Action

Physicians face a new reality: fewer healthcare dollars directed toward those who deliver the highest-quality care for the lowest price. The new system means that some physicians will receive proportionately more and some less of value-based payments. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has already indicated that value is the new deliverable from physicians and hospitals, and soon other payers, including patients, will follow their lead. Thus, anesthesiologists cannot afford to ignore the current reality: prove your value with data. It may surprise anesthesiologists, often touted as leaders in patient safety, that our surgical colleagues are ahead of us on measurable quality. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Society for Thoracic Surgeons (STS) have already partnered with CMS to create pay-for-performance measures that have demonstrably improved patient care. By contrast, anesthesiologists have only three measures as of November 2013: antibiotic timing, normothermia, and the central line bundle....