Bridges to Excellence® - American Board of Internal Medicine Frequently
Asked Questions
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What is Bridges to Excellence® (BTE)? Bridges to Excellence programs
recognize and reward clinicians who deliver superior patient care.
Our programs measure the quality of care delivered in provider practices. We place a
special emphasis on managing patients with chronic conditions, who are most at risk
of incurring potentially avoidable complications. Our Recognitions cover all major
chronic conditions, plus office systems – and a real Medical Home measurement
scheme to promote comprehensive care delivery and strong relationships between
patients and their care teams.
Physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants who meet our performance
benchmarks can earn a range of incentives, sometimes including substantial cash
payouts. Insurers and employers fund these payouts from the savings they achieve
through lower health care costs and increased employee productivity.
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Why is the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) offering this
opportunity? In an effort to reduce the redundancy of data collection and
measurement for physicians maintaining their certification, ABIM offers diplomates
additional opportunities to use the data they collect for ABIM Practice Performance
Assessment with other programs. BTE has recognized the ABIM PIM Practice
Improvement Module® as an effective tool for quality improvement and seeks to
reward physicians who achieve certain levels of performance in select ABIM PIMs
Practice Improvement Modules.”
This opportunity is strictly voluntary for ABIM diplomates and ABIM is not involved in
setting the standards for performance of the BTE recognition or rewards.
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What is the relationship between ABIM and BTE? Self-Evaluation of
Practice Performance is a required element of ABIM’s Maintenance of Certification
(MOC) program. ABIM’s PIMs are web-based tools that help physicians gain
knowledge about their practices through a multi- dimensional practice performance
assessment analysis of data, including patient and practice system surveys and
patient chart data. ABIM uses the data submitted electronically by the physician to
provide an interactive report that helps the physician develop and implement a
practice improvement plan. After implementing and testing the improvement plan,
physicians then report the impact of the implemented changes back to ABIM.
Physicians who have completed an ABIM Diabetes or Hypertension PIM Practice
Improvement Module will have the option to submit data collected to BTE for
consideration in BTE’s Diabetes or Hypertension Care Recognition Program.
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What is BTE’s role? BTE works with national experts in performance
measurement (e.g., NQF, NCQA) to establish Care Recognition Programs that deliver
a fair and rigorous assessment of a physician’s performance based on medical record
data. The BTE programs are designed to provide incentives that reward physicians
and practices for adopting better systems of care that result in physician practice
reengineering, the adoption of health information technology and delivering good
outcomes to patients. Bridges to Excellence is supported through a combination of
grants received from foundations and the licensing of BTE intellectual property to
purchasers and payers who implement the BTE programs.
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What is the benefit of applying for BTE recognition? There are several
benefits to physicians. Physicians can demonstrate to the public and to their
professional peers that they have gained BTE recognition by issuing a press release,
as well as having their recognition achievements posted on BTE's consumer portal.
Additionally BTE recognitions are communicated to both health plans and employers.
Physicians may use the BTE recognition to demonstrate that they meet high
standards of care when contracting with health organizations and purchasers of
health services. Physicians are provided with a scorecard that can help identify areas
of care that vary from the performance criteria and use it to create an improvement
plan. Where applicable, physicians can establish eligibility for pay-for- performance
bonuses or differential reimbursement from payers and health plans.
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Is there a cost to apply for BTE recognition? Direct data submissions
involve a fee of $95 per physician, per submission. The transaction fee is paid to the
performance assessor, IPRO; neither BTE nor ABIM receive any revenue.
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Who is eligible for BTE recognition? To be eligible for BTE recognition
through the ABIM pathway, applicants must be licensed as either a medical doctor
(MD) or doctor of osteopathy (DO), and provide continuing care for patients with the
targeted condition and be able to meet the minimum patient sample requirements
for BTE programs.
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Is participation voluntary? Yes, participation is voluntary.
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How do I find out if I am eligible for incentives? Physicians who
demonstrate excellent performance may also earn a bonus payment for qualifying
patients covered by a health plan or employer that participates in BTE. These
incentives are funded from the savings achieved through lower health care costs,
and the increased employee productivity that results from higher quality of care.
Incentive program designs and rewards vary by region and health plan. Physicians
are encouraged to call their health plans and inquire about BTE rewards and other
positive incentives for BTE recognition.
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Who does the assessment for BTE recognition? BTE assessments are
performed by independent, 3rd party organizations. IPRO, one of the nation's largest
independent, not-for-profit health care consulting organizations is the BTE
performance assessor for physicians applying for BTE through an ABIM PIM. IPRO
works with state and federal governments and private corporations to optimize the
quality of health care programs and the value of dollars spent on health care.
Incorporated in 1983 as a 501(c)(3) organization, IPRO is headquartered in New
York State and has clients in more than 30 states. http://www.ipro.org/
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What happens after I successfully transfer my data from ABIM? IPRO
reviews and assesses the completeness of physician data submitted at the time of
application and immediately informs the physician if additional information is
required. IPRO runs and provides the physician with a file upload summary either
accepting or rejecting the file if invalid or incomplete information is submitted.
Once the file passes the validation step, completed applications are processed for
compliance with BTE performance criteria, and applicant-specific reports with results
for all program measures are produced no more than 30 days. IPRO makes a
decision on whether to award recognition on the basis of the applicant’s overall
performance against the criteria. Again, this opportunity is strictly voluntary for ABIM
diplomates and ABIM is not involved in setting the standards for performance of the
BTE recognition or rewards.
Additionally, BTE reserves the right to complete an audit of any application for
recognition. Obtaining final recognition results takes longer than usual for applicants
chosen for audit. For those applicants selected for audit, final recognition
determination will be made within 60 days of the date of data transfer
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Will submitting my information for BTE recognition indicate that I have
also completed the PIM? No. Physicians will still need to do an improvement plan
and re-measure as part of the ABIM PIM requirements and will require the physician
to return to ABIM’s platform to complete the PIM.
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Are the results of my BTE recognition assessment secured? Only
recognition status is shared with health plans and employers for the purpose of
paying incentives and/or highlighting recognitions in their directories. Neither clinical
data nor failures to achieve recognition are publicly shared.
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What if I don’t pass the first time around? Physicians who do not achieve
at least Level I recognition upon application for a specific program, may reapply for
that program after six months.
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How will patients know that I have achieved recognition? Physician
recognitions are posted on BTE's consumer portal and communicated to both health
plans and employers by BTE.
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How long is the recognition good for? The BTE recognition duration is two
years.
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Who do I contact if I have a problem with my data submission? If you
are experiencing any difficulties please contact Technical Support by e- mail:
support@ipro.us or phone: 516.209.5457 (8am-5pm EST). Your issue will be
addressed promptly within 48 hours.
For more information, please refer to the BTE Diabetes Care Recognition Program
Clinician Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual for ABIM PIM Data Submission.