Internal Medicine Incentive Description

SIP’s Board of Directors developed an incentive program in 2002 when SIP’s year-end financials were favorable. In late 2011, the SIP Board of Directors decided to redesign the Incentive Program to align the incentive measures with the goals of SIP. Patient Satisfaction projects and involvement with the Sutter Community Connect (EPIC) eHR were added, along with a few selected HEDIS measures. There are separate HEDIS measures for adults and peds.

The incentive plan, now known at the Performance Compensation Plan, changed in 2017 and is outlined in the documents below for both PCPs and Specialists. Physicians must now complete one meeting every six months in order to qualify for that incentive period (Mid-Year: January – June and Year-End: July - December).

Please take a few moments to read about the changes to this program and how it will impact you. Please note: Any distribution through the Incentive Program is contingent upon SIP’s overall financial performance and applies to all SIP physicians.

Key aspects:

  • Continued high potential for quality awards
  • Patient satisfaction surveys based upon iPad, email, and text surveys using “Would recommend”
  • SIP will pay you to go to virtual journal clubs or dinner meetings to foster the joy of medicine
  • One innovation project every 6 months
  • One member meeting in each 6 month period is required to receive the incentive award for that period.
  • All amounts below are yearly, paid in two installments

Quality:

The board agreed that SIP must continue to aggressively improve its quality metrics to benefit patient care as well as to maximize SIP and practice income. We also want to reward PCPs for their work when we achieve sufficient progress in quality to allow SIP to receive a QIP payment for care management.

The maximum for quality is estimated to be about $67K, divided among CRC screening, control of diabetes, and control of hypertension.  This may increase substantially if our QIP quality metrics are good enough to earn additional awards for utilization.  Adjusted by patient volume factor*.

Patient Satisfaction:

As you know, SIP has switched to tablet based surveys (also using email and text messages) and we can now survey ALL your patients so that every practice should have enough responses to understand how they are doing and to participate in this portion of the SIP incentive. Each physician will receive an award based upon the “would recommend” question. The maximum award will be ~$15K for performance at the 90th percentile, decreasing to ~$2K at the 15th percentile. 20 surveys every 2 months are required to earn the maximum award.  Adjusted by patient volume factor*.

Clinical integration/SCC:

In recognition of the importance to SIP of a unified medical record, SIP continues to award to those practices who have deployed SCC an amount equal to the monthly SCC license fees plus $3K. Not adjusted by patient volume factor.

Annual Wellness visits and Annual Preventative visits:
AWV: SIP supplements what you receive from CMS by ~$70 for each, for a total of about $200 each (more for first time visits) – not adjusted by patient volume factor. And to recognize the importance of consistently performing AWVs and capturing active HCC codes,  there is an additional award of ~5K for those who do AWVs on at least 75% of their eligible patients (payable only at year end, adjusted by patient volume factor*). A similar program has begun for commercial patients – Annual Preventative visits - although it does not have the 75% completion bonus.  Be sure to code both of these correctly to receive the additional award from SIP.

Physician Wellness:
In addition to $300 2x/yr for completing a wellness survey, SIP promotes physician collaboration and camaraderie by paying for SIP physicians’ virtual dinners at journal clubs, practice meetings, and/or discussion meetings that include wellness, up to $40 each, once every 2 months. Not adjusted by patient volume factor.

Innovation:

SIP encourages innovation projects that improve quality, patient satisfaction, and/or physician wellness – other great ideas are welcome also. You can do one project every 6 months. Adjusted by patient volume factor*.

Final Details
All amounts are subject to change based upon the availability of funds.

To receive a performance compensation payment physicians must meet minimum standards:

  1. Attend one meeting in each half year to receive an award for that period. $300 per meeting will be awarded to PCPs and specialists for each designated meeting attended, except for duplicated PCP meetings. Member meetings are available for both PCPs and specialists.
  2. All PCP’s are eligible through their initial partial calendar year and first full year of practice for an incentive payment, after which 50 attributed patients are required.
  3. Be a SIP member in good standing on the last day of the performance assessment period and, if not retired, at the time awards are issued.

*The PCP patient volume factor is 1.0 for unique SIP patient volumes = 350, decreasing arithmetically to 0.5 for a unique SIP patient volume of 50. Volumes above 350 receive proportionately larger awards.

** The actual cost of a monthly SCC contract is calculated as average of the total cost for all qualifying physicians in a practice.

*** Annual Wellness Visits for Medicare Advantage patients receive the usual payments of $129-190 (110% of Medicare) when billed, plus an additional award from SIP in our twice yearly performance compensation payments to increase the total to $230 for first time and Welcome to Medicare visits and $200 for subsequent AWV’s. Group B providers receive 90% of Medicare plus the same SIP additional bonuses for total payments of $176-$196.

Performance Compensation Program awards are not guaranteed and are dependent upon SIP’s financial performance.

2021 Printable Incentive Documents