MattPAC #2: Quality Payment Programs and Accreditation

Welcome to MattPAC*, a new Accelerators pilot concept!

Radiation Oncologist Dr. Matt Spraker aims to introduce important healthcare policy concepts rooted in current events. Each show is designed to be efficient with your time and inspire you to get engaged with advocacy in around 30 minutes. 

In MattPAC #1, Matt covers quality payment programs (QPP). QPPs aim to incentivize "High Quality Care" by adjusting a portion of physician's pay according to performance on quality indicators, measures of healthcare quality. 

We'll discuss the rich history of care quality improvement in radiation medicine and examine how Medicare has approached the QPP with Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). After, we examine practice accreditation, the QPP approach proposed in ASTRO's ROCR and close with a brainstorm of a better QPP. 

Here are some good resources for further reading on these topics:

• Albert and Das reviews, Quality Assessment in Oncology and Quality Indicators in Radiation Oncology
• MedPAC report, Examining MACRA implementation and the road ahead
• MedPAC report, Moving beyond the MIPs
• GAO Report, Provider Performance and Experiences under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System
• Patel et al., Oncologist Participation and Performance in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System
• Luh, Radiation Oncology Alternative Payment Model's Impact on Small and Rural Practices
• Jones et al., Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Participation in Radiation Oncology Practices — A Simple Survey
• Chera et al., Improving Quality of Patient Care by Improving Daily Practice of Radiation Oncology
• Coia and Hanks, Quality Assessment in the USA: How the Patterns of Care Study Has Made a Difference 
• Hanks et al., Patters of Care Studies: Past, Present, and Future
• Visit the CMS QPP page for a lot of info: check your participation status, MIPs guides, APMs, and more
• ASTRO ROCR FAQ page

The Accelerators Podcast is a production of Photon Media, a division of Cold Light Legacy Company.

*MattPAC is not a political action committee, it's just a cute name. If you'd like to support our efforts, please visit the Cold Light Legacy Company to learn more.