How the way doctors are paid affects what they do.

What is it about?

This article reviews both the theory and evidence of the link between how doctors are paid and how they deliver medical care. The most utilised system of payment, which is called fee-for-service and which pays a doctor according to how many procedures they perform, is often associated with over-treatment. A large number of alternative payment systems have been developed and this article reviews the evidence on how they are supposed to work and whether they do.

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Why is it important?

Medical professions are under scrutiny as the costs of health care continue to increase. A part of the response to rising health care costs is to reconsider how doctors should be paid and this article summarises the context and evidence.

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