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Doc: P4P pneumonia measure may spur more infections

Quality Improvement Monitor, September 12, 2008

In a commentary for the New York Times, a prominent cardiologist argues that some of the measures in pay-for performance (P4P) programs may lead to a greater number of antibiotic-resistance infections.

Under the CMS/Premier P4P project, hospitals are assessed on whether they give pneumonia patients antibiotics within four hours after their arrival. But hospitals can not always diagnose patients that quickly, Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist on Long Island, wrote in the Times.

“Under P4P, there is pressure to treat even when the diagnosis isn’t firm,” Jauhar wrote. “So more and more antibiotics are being used in emergency rooms today, despite all-too-evident dangers like antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-associated infections.”

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