Medicare Value-Based Purchasing: A quality improvement performance guide for independent hospitals

The new Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program presents challenges for some hospitals to institute practices that can result in an improved clinical process for care performance and outcomes and the patients' perception of care. The federally mandated program has created a paradigm shift from a payer based on volume and quantity to a payer of value and quality.;Hospitals subject to Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System reimbursement are being incentivized to improve their performance. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services utilize performance measures based on scientific evidence, guidelines, and standards of care. The new program puts hospitals at financial risk if they are unable to improve their quality performance above a prescribed level. For this project, the author has created a guide to assist independent hospitals with the performance improvement of their combined VBP scores in the Process of Care and Perception of Care Domain.