Options for assessing PPO quality: Accreditation and profiling as accountability strategies

This article examines and discusses various alternatives for measuring the quality of care and services provided by preferred provider organizations (PPOs). The topic is approached from both a conceptual and a practical perspective, outlining key assumptions that underlie the desire to measure the quality of PPOs, while considering the current limitations and difficulties associated with existing PPO arrangements. Although the article does not provide normative judgments about which approach is best, it attempts to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of possible approaches in an unbiased manner. Significant attention is given to accreditation and profiling as possible methods for assessing the quality of care in PPOs.