Associations Between Physician Characteristics and Quality of Care

Abstract

To improve the quality of care received by their beneficiaries, some health plans use physician report cards and tiered physician networks to steer their members toward physicians who provide high-quality care. However, most patients do not have access to physician quality measures. Furthermore, the quality metrics available to some patients are limited in scope and reflect only a few aspects of overall quality of care. Patients are therefore encouraged to use publicly available proxies for clinical performance when choosing a physician. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality advises patients to consult state medical boards and to seek information on board certification and training as a way to assess the quality of care physicians provide.¹ The consumer Web site HealthGrades² limits its “recognized doctor” and “5-star doctor” labels to physicians who are board certified, who have never had their license revoked, and who are free of disciplinary actions or malpractice claims. Malpractice claims and board certification status, along with procedure-specific experience, are judged by consumers to be much more indicative of the quality of care delivered by a physician than ratings by government agencies or independent medical institutions.³