A large independent family planning association wished to contract with providers through a process that would be helpful to bidders and ensure that the Association achieved the best value for its purchases- value being defined as the highest quality at the lowest possible price.

To achieve this goal, HealthMetrics  proposed a contracting process that is not based on the traditional RFP process. Rather we recommended that the contracts be based on quantification of an organization’s performance.

Specifically, to contract with the Association for services, a delegate must demonstrate that the clinical quality, cost, and client satisfaction of their family planning services meet or exceed the requirements established by the Association. If no provider in a specific area meet the criteria set by the Association, then the contract would be offered to that organization which has the best performance measures in that region.

The project resulted in 6 clinics receiving baseline information on several performance outcomes and a roadmap in the form of recommendations for how to improve performance to reach the standards set by the grantee Association.  HealthMetrics supported managers as necessary in their efforts to make changes to process.

The Association Management was able to easily track the performance of its contract providers and for the first time felt confident that health care provided by their contractors was high quality and efficient.  They knew when the dollars they contributed to sustaining community family planning services were well spent.