The National Business Coalition on Health, an umbrella organization of more than 80 regional business coalitions, said member organizations covering Denver, Fort Smith, Ark., and Quincy and Peoria, Ill., would participate as demonstration sites in the Bridges to Excellence rewards program for physicians.
Bridges to Excellence projects already are underway in Cincinnati, Louisville and Schenectady, N.Y., among other cities. Participants have paid out nearly $297,000 in bonuses to physicians for implementing electronic clinical information systems and care management programs.
The not-for-profit program, funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was launched in April 2003. Under it, physicians agree to supply data from participating health plans and demonstrate high levels of performance in assessments by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
"Equal to the dollars is the employer community sending messages to the provider community in their local markets that performance, in terms of higher-quality care, will be economically rewarded," said Andrew Webber, president and chief executive officer of National Business Coalition on Health. More information is available at bridgestoexcellence.org.
