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Otolaryngologists will soon have an easy way to track the quality of care they provide their patients, as well as the ability to compare their efforts with local and national colleagues. This is one of many benefits of a new clinical data registry developed by the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNSF) and set to launch later this year.
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April 2016Called Regent, the clinical data registry will provide a platform for otolaryngologists to better engage in and adapt to a changing healthcare environment that is moving from volume-based care to value-based care. Within this changing environment, physicians and physician groups need to find ways to collect, analyze, and report outcomes for establishing reimbursement in a market increasingly moving toward value-based purchasing. The registry will help otolaryngologists achieve these goals (see “Benefits Offered by Regent,”).
“Payers are moving away from reimbursing for volume of care delivered to paying for quality of care and outcomes,” said Randal Weber, MD, professor, in the department of head and neck surgery at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. “Sooner rather than later, we’re all going to have to report our outcomes.” And this is where the registry can be useful, he added. “Outcomes of individual physicians will be compared with thousands of other physicians, and having data will allow us to determine the type of care our patients are receiving and whether it is the best and most appropriate care.”