PQRI: ‘We’re from the Government, and We’re Here to Help’

Tips from Medicare

PQRI reminds me of an incident that occurred during a college summer job. I was working as a waiter during the business lunch crowd shift. In came one of our regulars, who was a difficult customer and a very poor tipper. One of my colleagues waited on him. My friend cleaned the table at the end of the meal, and she was highly insulted by his very meager tip. She grabbed the few coins and ran after him into the parking lot. She came back with a mischievous grin on her face. She had told him, Excuse me, but you forgot this-and promptly gave him back his tip. So far, fewer than 16% of eligible professionals have attempted participation in the initial PQRI. The AMA survey suggests that only two-thirds of this group will continue to participate. The other third seems to be saying the same as my waitress friend. Though CMS plans to increase the bonus from 1.5% to 2% (roughly 33 cents per CPT code), we should tell them Thanks, but no thanks. Even a good waiter gets a 15% tip.

References

1. Gianoli GJ. A pay cut by any other name is still a pay cut. ENToday 2007;2(5):16.
2. Personal communication.
3. Glendinning D. AMA survey results: Medicare rated as poor performer during debut of pay-for-reporting. AMNews Nov. 17, 2008.
4. Lindenauer PK, Remurs D, Roman S, et al. Public reporting and pay for performance in hospital quality improvement. NEJM 2007;356(5):486-96.
5. Glickman SW, Ou FS, DeLong ER, et al. Pay for performance, quality of care, and outcomes in acute myocardial infarction. JAMA 2007;297(21):2373-80.
6. Werner RM, Bradlow ET. Relationship between Medicare’s hospital performance measures and mortality rates. JAMA 2006;296(22):2694-702.

©2009 The Triological Society