Monday, March 09, 2015

Time limited versus grandfathered board certified internists

This study compared the two groups along various performance metrics:

Main Outcomes and Measures Ten primary care performance measures: colorectal screening rates; diabetes with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c level) less than 9.0%; diabetes with blood pressure less than 140/90 mm Hg; diabetes with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level less than 100 mg/dL; hypertension with blood pressure less than 140/90 mm Hg; thiazide diuretics used in multidrug hypertensive regimen; atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and LDL-C level less than 100 mg/dL; post–myocardial infarction use of aspirin; post–myocardial infarction use of β-blockers; congestive heart failure (CHF) with use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor.
Results After adjustment for practice site, panel size, years since certification, and clustering by physician, there were no differences in outcomes for patients cared for by internists with time-limited or time-unlimited certification for any performance measure...

These results must be viewed in terms of the limitations of using performance metrics as a surrogate.

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