Keywords: Bundled payments, physician variability, physician benchmarking
Anecdotal evidence suggests that post-acute care pathways are most heavily influenced by the community standard which influences patient expectations/preference and thus influences the discharge disposition. However, it is important to understand the contribution of patient characteristics and physician practice patterns to the total variance in the price of a bundle. We will describe a methodology to measure the portion of bundle price variability “expected” based on patient characteristics known at the time of discharge. The goal is to measure the amount of variability explained by patient characteristics and by differences in physician behavior. This analysis will be completed using claims data provided by Medicare to several contracting providers. Future analyses will add clinical data extracted from the providers’ electronic medical records system.