Article
Bridges to Health Grades
Since Nov. 1, the 2.5 million consumers who visit the HealthGrades online provider rating service in an average month have been be able to see which physicians have earned certifications for high-quality care from Bridges to Excellence, the employer-sponsored P4P program. In addition, the BTE certifications are being made available to the millions of employees and health plan members who have access to HealthGrades? Health Management Suite. This is a set of online patient decision support tools that include hospital ratings, physician profiles, and medical cost calculators.
Since Nov. 1, the 2.5 million consumers who visit the HealthGrades online provider rating service in an average month have been be able to see which physicians have earned certifications for high-quality care from Bridges to Excellence, the employer-sponsored P4P program. In addition, the BTE certifications are being made available to the millions of employees and health plan members who have access to HealthGrades' Health Management Suite. This is a set of online patient decision support tools that include hospital ratings, physician profiles, and medical cost calculators.
Among the 75 employers that participate in BTE are IBM, Honeywell, Procter & Gamble, Verizon, Raytheon, EMC, Cisco, GE, UPS, Hannaford Brothers and Carlson Cos. Physicians can receive certification-and dollars--for excellent cardiac or diabetes care or by acquiring EHRs. Next year, BTE plans to introduce new certifications for spine care, internal medicine care, and cancer care.
