VCU news

By Joe Kuttenkuler

Much in the same way employees are recognized for positive performance, Anthem - Virginia's largest heath insurer - is preparing to financially reward hospitals for improvements they make in certain patient care areas.

The three-year Quality-in-Sights Hospital Incentive Program (Q-HIP) will measure the performance of nine Virginia hospitals in patient safety, health outcomes and patient satisfaction. Anthem and the Virginia Chapter of the American College of Cardiology will work closely with the hospitals to measure successes and determine performance payments.

Dr. Ron Clark, chief medical officer of the VCU Health System, who consulted with Anthem during the development of Q-HIP, said a program that links safety, outcomes and satisfaction benefits everyone.

"This is a win-win situation in my mind. As health care providers, we always strive to do the right thing for our patients. The reality is this sometimes costs more in terms of putting in place new structures and processes to support a better way of delivering services. While we have had an active quality program for years, the increased reimbursement from Anthem will allow us to accelerate the timeline for achieving some of our goals," said Clark.

Details of the program were announced during a news conference at Anthem's headquarters on Feb. 18. The program is scheduled to begin this summer.

Hospitals participating in the program are:

• Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital
• Bon Secours Memorial Regional Health Center
• Centra Health - Lynchburg General Hospital
• Riverside Regional Medical Center
• Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
• Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital
• University of Virginia Health System
• Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
• Winchester Medical Center