Cardiac Care Link

The Cardiac Care Link (CCL) program is focused on improving the quality of care for patients with cardiovascular disease. Physicians who demonstrate they are top performers in cardiac care can earn up to $200 per year for each cardiac patient covered by a participating employer. Participating employers fund these incentives from the savings they achieve through lower health care costs and increased employee productivity that results from the delivery of higher quality of cardiovascular care.  Therefore, CCL is a win-win-win situation for physicians, employers and patients.

Check out the Cardiac Care Analysis- Savings Estimate (PDF).

NCQA Cardiac Care Performance Assessment Program

To obtain the rewards available through the BTE CCL reward program, eligible physicians must demonstrate that they provide high levels of cardiac care by passing NCQA's cardiac performance assessment program. Physicians must submit data on blood pressure, lipid and cholesterol testing, aspirin/antithrombotic use, and smoking cessation status for their cardiac patients.

What is NCQA's performance assessment program?

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is the leading independent organization providing information that allows employers and consumers of health care to distinguish among health plans and physicians based on quality of care. The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) and NCQA, have developed the Heart/Stroke Recognition Program (HSRP) to assess physician performance in the care of patients with cardiovascular disease or who have had a stroke, and to recognize those physicians who demonstrate a high level of performance. Level II recognition status in the BTE CCL program is granted to those physicians with an HSRP application showing achievement of both appropriate blood pressure and LDL control for their patients.  As previously mentioned, Level II CCL physicians may be eligible for rewards of up to $200 per cardiac patient per year.

To achieve HSRP Recognition and obtain 3-year recognition, physicians must submit data on outcome and process measures for a sample of their cardiovascular/stroke patients.

How will the public know which physicians have obtained recognition?

All BTE rewards-eligible practices and physicians who obtain recognition with NCQA's Heart Stroke Recognition Program (HSRP) will be promoted as recognized physicians through NCQA's Recognized Physician Directory. Additionally, BTE will list HSRP-recognized physicians on the HealthGrades' Physician Quality Ratings website. To identify physicians in your area who demonstrate a high level of performance in providing care, go to one of these directories.

What measures will be used to determine eligibility for recognition?

Three-year HSRP recognition from AHA/ASA/NCQA requires submission of process and outcomes measures for a sample of a physician's cardiovascular/stroke patients. For specific clinical measures visit NCQA.

Additional Information on and Applying for HSRP Recognition

For additional information on HSRP visit, NCQA.

*Please note that some of this information such as reward amounts could be specific to a region. For market specifics, go to your local BTE region page.