Preventing Unintended Consequences of Quality Measurement for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis
Authors: Azeem Majeed
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2012)

Letters21 February 2012Preventing Unintended Consequences of Quality Measurement for Venous Thromboembolism ProphylaxisAzeem Majeed, MDAzeem Majeed, MDFrom Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, United Kingdom.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-156-4-201202210-00024 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In recent years, pay-for-performance programs and public reporting of provider performance have become integral components of strategies to improve the quality of health care in many countries. However, as highlighted by Baker and Qaseem (1), quality measurement can also have unintended consequences. Among the measures that these authors advocate to reduce such consequences is allowing physicians to report exceptions for not following a recommendation. Although exception reporting should be an essential component of quality measurement to ensure that patients who will not benefit from an intervention (such as those who are terminally ill) are not treated inappropriately, ...References1. Baker DW, Qaseem A; American College of Physicians' Performance Measurement Committee. Evidence-based performance measures: preventing unintended consequences of quality measurement [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2011;155:638-40. [PMID: 22041954] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Ashworth M, Millett C. Quality improvement in UK primary care: the role of financial incentives. J Ambul Care Manage. 2008;31:220-5. [PMID: 18574380] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Doran T, Fullwood C, Reeves D, Gravelle H, Roland M. Exclusion of patients from pay-for-performance targets by English physicians. N Engl J Med. 2008;359:274-84. [PMID: 18635432] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Dalton AR, Alshamsan R, Majeed A, Millett C. Exclusion of patients from quality measurement of diabetes care in the UK pay-for-performance programme. Diabet Med. 2011;28:525-31. [PMID: 21294767] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Millett C, Gray J, Saxena S, Netuveli G, Khunti K, Majeed A. Ethnic disparities in diabetes management and pay-for-performance in the UK: the Wandsworth Prospective Diabetes Study. PLoS Med. 2007;4:191. [PMID: 17564486] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Azeem Majeed, MDAffiliations: From Imperial College London, London W6 8RP, United Kingdom.Disclosures: Dr. Majeed is a general practitioner in the primary care practice of Dr Curran & Partners in London, United Kingdom. The Department of Primary Care & Public Health at Imperial College London has received funding from the NHS for research on pay-for-performance. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoEvidence-Based Performance Measures: Preventing Unintended Consequences of Quality Measurement David W. Baker and Amir Qaseem , for the American College of Physicians' Performance Measurement CommitteePreventing Unintended Consequences of Quality Measurement for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis David W. Baker and Amir Qaseem Preventing Unintended Consequences of Quality Measurement for Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Dale W. Bratzler , Jerod M. Loeb , and Denise Krusenoski Metrics 21 February 2012Volume 156, Issue 4Page: 327-328KeywordsHealth care providersHealth care qualityHealth disparitiesHemoglobinPhysiciansPrevention, policy, and public healthPrimary care physiciansProphylaxisRacial and ethnic issuesVenous thromboembolism ePublished: 21 February 2012 Issue Published: 21 February 2012 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2012 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...