Higher Health Care Quality And Bigger Savings Found At Large Multispecialty Medical Groups
- William B. Weeks1,*,
- Daniel J. Gottlieb2,
- David J. Nyweide3,
- Jason M. Sutherland4,
- Julie Bynum5,
- Lawrence P. Casalino6,
- Robin R. Gillies7,
- Stephen M. Shortell8 and
- Elliott S. Fisher9
- 1William B. Weeks (William.B.Weeks{at}dartmouth.edu) is an associate professor at the Dartmouth Medical School and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
- 2Daniel J. Gottlieb is a research analyst at the Dartmouth Institute.
- 3David J. Nyweide is a doctoral candidate at the Dartmouth Institute.
- 4Jason M. Sutherland is an assistant professor at the Dartmouth Institute.
- 5Julie Bynum is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, and the Dartmouth Institute.
- 6Lawrence P. Casalino is an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.
- 7Robin R. Gillies is a researcher at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.
- 8Stephen M. Shortell is a professor and dean of the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley.
- 9Elliott S. Fisher is director of the Center for Healthcare Research and Reform, Dartmouth Institute.
- ↵*Corresponding author
Abstract
The belief that integrated delivery systems offer better care at lower cost has contributed to growing interest in accountable care organizations. These provider-led delivery systems would accept responsibility for their primary care populations and would have financial incentives for improving care and reducing costs. We investigated this belief by comparing the costs and quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries in twenty-two health care markets by physicians who did and did not work within large multispecialty group practices affiliated with the Council of Accountable Physician Practices. In most markets, and after adjustment for patient factors, group physicians affiliated with the council provided higher-quality care at a 3.6 percent lower annual cost ($272 per patient).
