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Michigan program looks to improve weight-loss surgery

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, July 19, 2005

A new quality-improvement program in Michigan hopes that paying hospitals with large weight-loss, or bariatric, surgery programs for data will lead to better practices for the procedure.

The program, run by the University of Michigan and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, differs from the most common quality improvement program, called pay for performance, which pays higher reimbursement to doctors or hospitals achieving better results, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Rather than offering rewards, this program suggests that compiling, analyzing, and sharing comprehensive data could help reduce the number of deaths resulting from medical errors while holding down medical costs for individuals and employers.

"The goal is to raise the tide, not to single out the good apples from the bad apples," said Dr. John Birkmeyer, professor of surgery and director of the Michigan Surgical Collaborative for Outcomes Research and Evaluation at the university, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"This is really the first wholesale effort aimed at improving the quality of weight-loss surgery anywhere in the country," said Birkmeyer. "I think this is going to serve as a national model."

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