P4P program discrepancies.

A recent survey conducted by Health Industry Insights, an IDC company, reveals a major disconnect between healthcare payers' pay for performance (P4P) program objectives and provider incentives and technology investment.

According to the Framingham, Mass.-based consultancy, the survey's key findings include:

* 70 percent of respondents claim to have a P4P program that actively promotes physician technology adoption to improve healthcare quality and safety, yet only 33 percent actually implement physician technology adoption as a P4P incentive, with less than 37 percent reporting active investment or sponsorship of these initiatives.

* 35 percent of health plans implement P4P programs across all of their product lines.

* Of the single-product P4P programs, HMOs take the lead with 40 percent of respondents reporting a P4P program in place.