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BackgroundPay for performance incentives are becoming increasingly popular, but are typically based on only a single point-in-time measurement as an indicator of chronic condition management.AimsTo determine the association between three time-interval based indicators of suboptimal blood pressure (BP) control and two point-in-time indicators from the UK Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF): BP5 (the percentage of patients with hypertension in whom the last BP in the previous nine months was < or = 150/90) and DM12 (the percentage of patients with diabetes in whom the last BP in the previous 15 months was < or = 145/85).MethodsWe extracted classification data and BP measurements from four New Zealand general practices with 4260 to 6130 enrolled patients. Data were analysed for three indicators with respect to a nine-month evaluation period for patients with hypertension and a 15-month period for patients with diabetes: (1) two or more consistently high BP measurements spaced over > or = 90 days, (2) a high BP measurement followed by a lapse of >120 days in BP measurement and (3) no BP measurement for >180 days.ResultsFor the four practices, 65-81% of the patients satisfied BP5 and 59-68% of patients satisfied DM12. Of the hypertension patients satisfying BP5, 31% (95% CI: 28-33%) failed at least one of the three interval based indicators; 42% (95% CI: 39-46%) of the diabetes patients satisfying DM12 failed at least one of the three interval based indicators.ConclusionConsidering only a point-in-time controlled BP measurement provides an incomplete view of the quality of BP management in patients with hypertension or diabetes over a period of time.

Type

Journal article

Journal

Quality in primary care

Publication Date

01/2010

Volume

18

Pages

93 - 101

Addresses

Department of Computer Science - Tamaki Campus and National Institute for Health Innovation/Section for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Keywords

Humans, Hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Adult, Aged, Middle Aged, Reimbursement, Incentive, Quality Assurance, Health Care, Quality Indicators, Health Care, New Zealand, Female, Male, Outcome Assessment, Health Care