Prepared for:

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

540 Gaither Road

Rockville, MD 20850

www.ahrq.gov

Contract No. 290-02-0017

Prepared by:

Stanford-University of California San Francisco Evidence-based Practice Center

Principal Investigator

R. Adams Dudley, M.D., M.B.A

Investigators

Anne Frolich, M.D.

David L. Robinowitz, M.D.

Jason A. Talavera, B.S.

Peter Broadhead, B.A.

Harold S. Luft, Ph.D.

Other Contributor

Kathryn McDonald, M.M.

EPC Associate Director

AHRQ Publication No. 04-0057

July 2004

ISBN: 1-58763-156-3

This report may be used, in whole or in part, as the basis for development of clinical practice guidelines and other quality enhancement tools, or as a basis for reimbursement and coverage policies. Endorsement by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of such derivative products may not be stated or implied.

AHRQ is the lead Federal agency charged with supporting research designed to improve the quality of health care, reduce its cost, address patient safety and medical errors, and broaden access to essential services. AHRQ sponsors and conducts research that provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; cost, use, and access. The information helps health care decisionmakers - patients and clinicians, health system leaders, and policymakers - make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.

This document is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without permission except any copyrighted materials noted for which further reproduction is prohibited without the specific permission of copyright holders.

Suggested Citation:

Dudley RA, Frolich A, Robinowitz DL, Talavera JA, Broadhead P, Luft HS. Strategies To Support Quality-based Purchasing: A Review of the Evidence. Technical Review 10. (Prepared by the Stanford-University of California San Francisco Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-02-0017). AHRQ Publication No. 04-0057. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. July 2004.