Medical groups can reduce costs by investing in improved quality of care for patients with diabetes.

A major feature of many new contracts between providers and payers is shared savings programs, in which providers can earn a percentage of the savings if the cost of the care they provide is lower than the projected cost. Unless providers are also held accountable for meeting quality benchmarks, some observers fear that these programs could erode quality of care by rewarding only cost savings. We estimated the effects on Medicare expenditures of improving the quality of care for patients with diabetes.

Factors influencing electronic clinical information exchange in small medical group practices.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the organizational factors that influence electronic health information exchange (HIE) by medical group practices in rural areas.

Methods: A purposive sample of 8 small medical group practices in 3 experimental HIE regions were interviewed to determine the extent of clinical information exchange with other health care providers and to identify the factors influencing those patterns.

Findings: HIE was found to be largely limited to exchanging immunization data through the state health department and exchanging clinical information within owned provider systems.

Differences in the cost of health care provided by group practices in Minnesota.

This article reports the findings of a study designed to identify differences in the cost and quality of care provided by medical group practices in Minnesota. Fifty-three practices that provide services to enrollees of employer-based self-insured health plans were included in the study. Costs adjusted for case mix and payment levels were found to vary from $2,400 to nearly $4,700 per member per year.

Is patient satisfaction influenced by the intensity of medical resource use by their physicians?

Objective: To determine whether patients' satisfaction with their primary care is related to providers' use of medical resources.

Study Design: Sixty-two practices serving 2805 patients enrolled in BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota were analyzed using hierarchical regression models.

Methods: Three measures of satisfaction included patient satisfaction with overall healthcare, patient satisfaction with the time spent with a physician or other provider during a visit, and the likelihood that a patient would recommend the clinic to others.

Factors influencing physician use of clinical electronic information technologies after adoption by their medical group practices.

Background: A major factor limiting efficiency and quality gains from clinical information technologies is the lack of full use by the clinicians.

Purpose: To identify the practice and physician characteristics that influence the use of e-scripts after adoption.

Methods: Data were obtained from 27 primary care medical group practices that had e-script technology for 2 years.

The influence of the structure and culture of medical group practices on prescription drug errors.

Background: This project was designed to identify the magnitude of prescription drug errors in medical group practices and to explore the influence of the practice structure and culture on those error rates. Seventy-eight practices serving an upper Midwest managed care (Care Plus) plan during 2001 were included in the study.

Methods: Using Care Plus claims data, prescription drug error rates were calculated at the enrollee level and then were aggregated to the group practice that each enrollee selected to provide and manage their care.

A comparison of the performance of hospital- and physician-owned medical group practices.

This study compares the financial and productivity performance of hospital- versus physician-owned medical group practices. Nineteen hospital-owned and twenty-three physician-owned family practices were matched by location (state) and size (full-time equivalent providers). The data were obtained from the 1998 Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Cost Survey database.