Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) is introducing a new online physician ranking program called Physician Quality Measurement (PQM).
PQM is part of a national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) effort to improve quality transparency. The new program will rate physicians based on 20 quality measures. According to BCBSTX, PQM will use measures similar to those used in its long-standing BlueCompare program, and provide greater detail for each physician’s measures on quality metrics.
Allan Chernov, MD, BCBSTX medical director for health care quality and policy, said PQM will use star ratings rather than the ribbons employed by the BlueCompare program.
He said, “Today’s consumers are always looking for more information about physicians and quality health care. (PQM) promotes the collaboration of physicians, patients, health plans and employers in continuously improving the quality of care.”
BCBSTX is mailing physicians information about PQM this week, along with the latest BlueCompare ratings for physician quality and cost efficiency. BCBSTX plans to publish those ratings on June 1.
Chernov said PQM was “vetted” by the Texas Medical Association and professional organizations.
“We worked hard on how we constructed the measures and we are in compliance with state laws and consistent with National Committee for Quality Assurance standards,” he said.
A 2009 Texas law gives physicians the right to appeal their ranking before a health plan publishes it, and allows physicians to opt out of quality-program rankings.
Chernov said “very few” Texas physicians have declined to participate in BlueCompare.
Steve Jacob is editor of D Healthcare Daily and author of the new book Health Care in 2020: Where Uncertain Reform, Bad Habits, Too Few Doctors and Skyrocketing Costs Are Taking Us. He can be reached at [email protected].
