CMS hashing out details for 'Physician Compare' website

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is hard at work creating "Physician Compare," a doctor-specific spinoff of Hospital Compare, a website that allows viewers to research and compare hospitals against price and quality factors. The new site, mandated by the federal health reform law to launch January 1, 2011, will be based on CMS' existing "physician finder" directory and initially include information about physicians enrolled in the Medicare program and those participating in the Physician Quality Reporting System.

Despite the fast-approaching deadline, that's about where the certainties end. During a town-hall-style meeting organized by CMS on Oct. 27, physicians and consumers debated details of the site's development and the criteria that may be provided on the site, Government Health IT reports.

"There's a lot of interest and opportunity but also some anxiety about it and how it will come out," said Dr. Michael Rapp, director of the quality measurement and health assessment group in CMS' Office of Clinical Standards and Quality.

In particular, doctors are concerned as to whether performance information will be risk-adjusted to not penalize those who treat sicker patients and how data will presented for physicians who provide care in a hospital versus an ambulatory setting. Meanwhile, consumers want information that is clear and useful. Steven Findlay, senior health policy analyst at Consumers Union, argued that in some cases, such as for measures related to diabetes care, composite scores would be more meaningful to patients.

Meeting attendees also discussed the worthiness and implications of other data items such as physicians' gender and race, office hours, ability to communicate via email, use of electronic health records and more.

To learn more:
- read the coverage in Government Health IT
- see the piece in iHealthBeat

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