Financial disincentives for nonperformance in obstetrics.

摘要

Hospitals and healthcare systems are under pressure to adopt standardized evidence-based care practices known to minimize risks of complications for medical-surgical patients or they will face significant reductions in reimbursement from third party payers. Can this type of scrutiny and financial disincentive process soon be expected for perinatal care? Consider what has happened recently in the medical-surgical specialty. As of October 1, 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are no longer paying for treatment to correct an adverse event for 12 specific hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) that it deems could have been reasonably prevented with the implementation of accepted evidence-based practices (CMS, 2008). Further HACs that will fall under these rules are being considered for implementation this year.