Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) releases its fifth annual physician quality ratings today, comparing the performance of 150 medical groups around Massachusetts. The results are used by physicians interested in improving the quality of care and doling out incentive bonuses, and by consumers seeking the best provider they can find. Searchable results are available on the MHQP website.

In conjunction with the latest public release I interviewed MHQP’s Executive Director, Barbra Rabson. I asked her to explain the new measures in this year’s report, to describe how MHQP’s ratings differ from those of the Group Insurance Commission and HealthGrades, why results are reported at the group level rather than for individual physicians, and about trends that emerge from the data.

One of the key success factors for MHQP has been the strong involvement of the physician community in developing the ratings and previewing the results. The desire for consensus can sometimes slow things down, yet it results in greater buy-in to the implications from the ratings than would otherwise be the case. Although Barbra is too polite to answer my question directly, the contrast with the Group Insurance Commission’s ratings program –which lacks physician input and is the subject of a lawsuit by physicians— is striking.

The PDF format press release is posted in the news section of the site.

April 2, 2009