Do doctor financial incentives encourage more care--less?

Medical Economics, March, 2002 by Rose, Joan R

MANAGED CARE

While some HMOs' and medical groups' financial incentives create a conflict of interest between a doctor's personal financial gain and patients' best interests, they're more likely to be aimed at improving patient care. The Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC), a nonpartisan policy research organization funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, recently analyzed productivity (a standard measure) and three performance-based measures that are used to adjust base compensation and/or bonuses.

Researchers found that physicians are more likely to be subject to incentives that may encourage use of services (patient satisfaction, productivity, and quality) than to financial incentives that may limit care (profiling).

Overall, doctors are far...

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