Predictors of Gaps in Patient Safety and Quality in U.S. Hospitals

Abstract

A significant percentage of hospitals have gaps between their best possible and observed quality scores. It may be better to use gap scores than observed scores in payments systems. More SFA research is needed to know how to lower gaps through changes in hospital and market characteristics.

Volatility and Persistence of Value-Based Purchasing Adjustments: A Challenge to Integrating Population Health and Community Benefit Into Business Operations

“…As the program continues to mature and administrations reevaluate current healthcare legislation, thought should also be given to: (1) increasing the financial incentive to influence behavior, (2) moving to a forced distribution of the VBP adjustment such that more facility revenue is at risk for poor performance, and/or (3) narrowing the number of metrics included in the program to focus facility efforts. An alternative method of improving safety and quality may include a more targeted approach that sets facility-specific performance targets (43).…”

Provider–patient communication and hospital ratings: perceived gaps and forward thinking about the effects of COVID-19

“…Research shows that while consumers tend to select hospitals with high clinical quality scores, satisfaction with a prior hospital admission has a larger impact on future hospital choice and the willingness to share experience with others [ 13 ]. However, gaps between observed and best possible ‘Hospital Compare’ scores in US hospitals appear to indicate that hospitals are not performing at their best possible level given their resources or due to organizational-level factors that affect providers’ time, commitment and incentives, which in turn affect patient perceived satisfaction [ 14 ].…”