Detroit Medical Center, Wayne State University Reach Contract Deal That Includes Pay-For-Performance System
Detroit Medical Center and Wayne State University on Wednesday agreed to a three-and-a-half-year contract that will provide $76 million annually for the medical school and implement pay-for-performance systems at DMC's eight hospitals, the Detroit News reports. According to the News, at "stake in the dispute was the care provided by nearly 1,000 medical residents and hundreds of faculty physicians who make up the core of programs that treat the city's" low-income and uninsured residents. In addition, the medical school trains hundreds of physicians annually as the state is facing a physician shortage expected to reach 6,000 by 2020, the News reports. Under the agreement, the institutions would jointly run dozens of graduate education programs and the majority of residency programs. The agreement also includes $8.8 million in recruitment money and performance bonuses paid by the DMC to WSU physicians and administrators who work there. The physicians also would receive cash incentives for reducing infections and shortening hospital stays. Mike Duggan, DMC CEO, said the center "didn't get everything we want. But we got the most important thing," which is the pay-for-performance system for hospital physicians and administrators. Herbert Smitherman, a WSU faculty member who practices at the DMC, said the agreement is "critically important for the economic, health and overall well-being of the city, region and state that these two important institutions stay together and work together effectively" (Terlep, Detroit News, 11/23).
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