BTE awards Diabetes Care Recognition Program certificates to 118 Montefiore Medical Group physicians

(Medical Group Cited for Leadership and As An Example for Others)

Bridges to Excellence, a national program that recognizes and rewards physicians for delivering better quality care, today awarded its sought-after Diabetes Care Recognition Program certificate to the 118 physicians in Montefiore Medical Center's 20 outpatient care facilities, known as the Montefiore Medical Group, for substantially lowering blood sugar levels and "bad" cholesterol levels in thousands of adult patients with diabetes.  

"The Bronx has one of the highest incidences of diabetes in the nation, and we have dealt with this health epidemic head on and aggressively over the past decade," said Steven Safyer, MD, president and CEO of Montefiore.  "It is extremely rewarding to receive from BTE outside recognition of our accomplishments in a team-based approach to medicine, our leadership in information technology and our excellence in diabetes care."

Three Organizations Recognize Montefiore's Excellence in Diabetes Care

In a ceremony held at Montefiore, Bridges to Excellence (BTE) presented Dr. Safyer with a plaque and a certificate of recognition; Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) presented Montefiore with a recognition plaque for each medical group; and the New York State Health Foundation presented 118 recognition certificates, one for each physician.

"This is a significant accomplishment and demonstrates that Montefiore Medical Group is committed to delivering superior care to patients with diabetes," said Bridges to Excellence Executive Director, Francois de Brantes.  "Montefiore Medical Group has more BTE-recognized physicians who provide quality care to patients with diabetes than any organization in New York State and we applaud its leadership and the example it sets for others."

The recognition for excellence in diabetes care was based on data tracked in 3,500 patient medical records at Montefiore collected over two years.  An independent organization scored the records to determine the level of quality of care.   Montefiore's special pay-for-performance program, in which doctors are paid bonuses based on "better quality" care rather than on "more" care for diabetes, called Bronx CHAMPION, was funded by the New York State Department of Health, while bonuses for high performance were paid to its physicians by Montefiore.  Support for Montefiore's Diabetes Care Recognition effort came from the NYSHealth's five-year campaign to improve diabetes care and outcomes in New York State (www.nysdiabetescampaign.org).  HANYS is a working partner with the NYSHealth in this statewide effort, and provided technical support to Montefiore during the data submission process.  

Results and Importance of Recognition

The results?  Only 14 percent of the diabetic patients in Montefiore's pay-for-performance program had high blood sugar levels (a Hgb A1c level above 9) versus the average US Medicaid health plan rate of 45 percent and the average commercial health plan rate of 28 percent.   In addition, 63 percent of Montefiore's patients had LDL (bad) cholesterol levels of less than 100, versus 34 percent of patients for US Medicaid health plans and 46 percent for commercial health plans.  

Why are these numbers important?  "We know from published medical studies that sustaining these results for diabetes patients across such a large population reduces the occurrence of kidney disease, heart attack, and stroke," said Rohit Bhalla, MD, Chief Quality Officer at Montefiore.

The BTE recognition is based on a model of patient-centered care and a set of national measures and standards that broadly incorporates comprehensive patient assessment and reassessment, patient education and shared decision-making.   BTE's Physician Recognition Program is co-sponsored by the American Diabetes Association and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Montefiore was able to rapidly and accurately quantify and compare blood sugar and cholesterol levels of so many patients by using its clinical information system, electronic medical record system and on-site chart reviews.  

As a result of the recognition, Montefiore Medical Group physicians are eligible for incentives from health plans that incorporate the BTE recognitions into their performance improvement programs.