Facey Medical Group in Thousand Oaks, Calif., earned Blue Cross of California's $1.2 million pay-for-performance bonus based on its 2004 Quality Performance Scorecard. As the top-performing medical group in Southern California, Facey credits Allscripts' electronic health record (EHR) for its success. In 2003, Facey deployed TouchWorks EHR from Allscripts to its 120 primary care and specialty physicians. According to Dr. Frederick Russo, president of the medical group, Facey has already earned an additional $2.1 million in 2005 from pay-for-performance initiatives.

Blue Cross's Quality Performance Scorecard is designed to demonstrate whether paying financial incentives to physicians who use information technologies such as the EHR can lower the nation's annual $290 billion Medicare tab while improving patient outcomes. The Blue Cross evaluation process monitored participating physician groups for their efforts in improving the quality of care provided to HMO patients.