‘Damning assessment’ finds few ties between physicians’ MIPS scores and stronger surgical outcomes

Fierce Health Payers August 4, 2021
Dave Muoio

There is “limited evidence” suggesting that physicians’ Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores are tied to better outcomes among surgical patients, according to a newly published study.

While researchers found a spattering of “small but clinically meaningful” associations between the physician scores and surgical complications—particularly among cardiac surgeons—their broader analysis suggests a feeble relationship between the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) physician performance measures and hospital outcomes.

“Concerns have been raised that MIPS may not sufficiently incentivize physicians to deliver high-value care,” University of Rochester School of Medicine researchers wrote in JAMA Network Open. “However, the main problem with MIPS may not be whether the incentives are large enough to influence physician behavior but rather whether the MIPS...

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