A main tenet of the accountable care movement is tying physician and hospital reimbursement to their performance. However, the entire employee base at a hospital or health system can impact the level of patient care.

With this in mind, the Jersey City (N.J) Medical Center started tying employee bonuses to the hospital's performance. It started in 2009, when all nonunion employees, about half of its workforce, were put on a pay-for-performance bonus program, according to an article on the Becker's Hospital Review website. 

This year, seven of the hospital's eight bargaining units have ratified contracts with pay-for-performance bonuses, and members will receive payouts for 2013 performance this year. The remaining bargaining unit's contract expires at the end of 2014.

And the program has been working, according to the article. Six years ago, JCMC was in financial trouble and was not performing as well as it wanted to on quality measures and patient satisfaction. The bonus program, coupled with other changes, has helped the hospital become financially stable and earn several recognitions of excellence.

Read the article.