Background: Accurate attribution of quality metrics to individual hospitalists is crucial for quality improvement and value-based care initiatives. However, the collaborative nature of inpatient care with frequent patient handoffs makes fair attribution challenging. The current understanding of variation in hospitalist quality metrics comes primarily from studies using attribution methods based on who oversaw the majority [...]

Background: Quality incentive programs are increasingly used in hospitalist groups and can drive improvement in focus metrics (1,2). Due to the nature of hospitalist work including frequent signout and handoffs, group rather than individual metric attribution can be considered for certain metrics and incentive targets set for either individual or group performance. Purpose: We investigated [...]