Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Not Seen to Impact Mortality Rates

Findings from a recent study showed no difference in mortality rates between patients treated in a hospital participating in the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) Medicare program and those treated in a hospital that does not participate in the program.

The HVBP program was created in 2011 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The program rewards or penalizes hospitals based on their performance in areas including clinical processes, clinical outcomes, patient experience, and more.

The study, published by The BMJ, included Medicare inpatient claims data from 2008 to 2013 and analyzed data for patients with acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. There were 2919 hospitals participating in HVBP and 1348 hospitals in a control group included in the study.

Researchers first compared the characteristics of hospitals and patients in hospitals participating in HVBP and those that are not.

HVBP hospitals cared for 2,253,818 patients while non-HVBP hospitals cared for 177,800 patients within the time period.

Researchers discovered similar mortality rates between HVBP and non-HVBP hospitals. There was a difference in trend of .01%-point difference for each quarter observed, which researchers said was not statistically significant.

Researchers noted that after the introduction of HVBP, mortality rates slowed in hospitals not participating in the program. These findings question how effective the HVBP program is, the researchers wrote.

Because the introduction of the HVBP program in the US was not associated with lower mortality rate after 30 days, countries wishing to implement these programs may want to consider an alternative method to reach their goals, the researchers concluded.