Silicon Valley looks to reward healthcare IT adoption

Silicon Valley looks to reward healthcare IT adoption: "Jeffrey A. Rideout, MD, Cisco’s medical director, has hatched a pay-for-performance plan through which Cisco and other large employers would provide financial incentives for medical groups to adopt information technology.

He hopes to get the program off the ground early next year. His next step: a meeting of physician practices and other key stakeholders. Rideout plans to hold that meeting in August.

As Paul Tang, MD, sees it, Rideout’s plan is “a terrific idea.” Tang, chief medical information officer at Palo Alto Medical Foundation, said the program Rideout is developing is similar to the Bridges to Excellence initiative launched in 2003. Bridges to Excellence, which pays bonuses to physicians who meet certain standards of care, received its initial push from large employers, such as Procter & Gamble and GE, eager to drive down the cost of healthcare. "

For a video piece on the Bridges to Excellence http://www.bridgestoexcellence.org/bte/BTE%20on%20FoxNews.mpeg