Standards of Excellence 2010

May 2010:

CAPG’s fourth annual Standards of Excellence (SOE) Program surveys CAPG medical groups’ “infrastructure” to offer steadily improving clinical quality, affordability, access, technology, public accountability, and individual reponsiveness to the people who choose us for care.  

SOE analyzes group capabilities to support their delivery system in four domains, each one with demonstrated importance and public interest.  We view these criteria as a roadmap for the country to follow as healthcare reform embraces "Accountable Care Organizations."

1. Care Management Practices—systems to assist our patients and support our physicians with
   • coordination of complex care
   • oversight of hospital care for safety and efficiency
   • smooth and safe transitions between the hospital and home
   • guideline-compliant chronic illness and preventive care
2. Health Information Technology—use of modern computerized systems to support
   • evidence-based medical decisions
   • coordination between doctors, hospitals, and ancillary services
   • timely and complete chronic illness and preventive care
   • identification of patients with exceptional needs and referral to support services
   • rapid communication between members of the care team
3. Accountability and Transparency—
   • participation in formal performance measurement and public reporting,
   • sharing constructive feedback with individual physicians,
   • recognizing and rewarding exceptional efforts
   • compliance with strict governmental regulatory requirements

    4.   Patient Centered Care--how do groups support our physicians to respond to
          our patients desires for

• convenient access, after hours care, and advice
• electronic communication between patients and offices
• continuity between medical home, ER, and Urgent care 
• cultural engagement and diversity in language preference? 

  The “Frequently Asked Questions” document has more detailed information.

• Standards of Excellence FAQ's

The Scoring instrument is a replica of the 2010 survey.

• Standards of Excellence 2010 Survey

Results:  Groups surpassing a scoring threshold in a domain received a "star," with the potential to achieve a total of four stars.  To view the results of the participating medical groups in 2010, please click here to see the "Star Chart."

CAPG has graphed the scoring distribution in each Domain two ways. 

      Ø    The first displays the number of groups performing at each point scoring  
            level.  In this case, both large and small groups have the same weight. 

Ø     In an effort to create a more patient-centered display and a more realistic understanding of the availability of services of different caliber, the graphs are also plotted by the number of patients covered by groups at each scoring level.  In the latter case, the distribution is sufficiently skewed toward the high end that the vertical Y axis is displayed using a logarithmic scale.

Care Management Groups:
Domain I, Domain II, Domain III, Domain IV

Covered Lives: 
Domain I, Domain II, Domain III, Domain IV

Wells Shoemaker MD, Medical Director
California Association of Physician Groups
915 Wilshire Blvd #1620
Los Angeles, CA  90017
E-mail wshoemaker@CAPG.org