Criteria for selection of a payment method for inpatient medical rehabilitation.

This article presents the results of a 3-stage Delphi survey designed to identify the policy criteria that should govern the evaluation of alternative payment methods and guide the selection of a payment method for inpatient medical rehabilitation. The Delphi survey (n = 85) included four groups of participants: consumers (n = 8), providers (n = 35), payers (n = 15), and health services researchers (n = 27). The Delphi survey uncovered 16 evaluation criteria. Delphi participants evaluated each criterion on a 10-point scale (1 = not important; 10 = greatest importance). Respondents value maximize patient/family outcome, maximize access, and maximize efficiency as the three most important criteria. Respondents report that minimize financial risk is the least important criterion. The results from both stage 2 and stage 3 (response rate = 85%) indicate a high level of consensus across the four respondent groups.