Financial incentives may be effective in changing healthcare professional practice .
We found no evidence from review s that examined the effect of financial incentives on patient outcomes
BACKGROUND There is considerable interest in the effectiveness of financial incentives in the delivery of health care .
Incentives may be used in an attempt to increase the use of evidence -based treatments among healthcare professionals or to stimulate health professionals to change their clinical behaviour with respect to preventive , diagnostic and treatment decisions , or both .
Financial incentives are an extrinsic source of motivation and exist when an individual can expect a monetary transfer which is made conditional on acting in a particular way .
Since there are numerous review s performed within the healthcare area describing the effects of various types of financial incentives , it is important to summarise the effectiveness of these in an overview to discern which are most effective in changing health professionals ' behaviour and patient outcomes .
OBJECTIVES To conduct an overview of systematic review s that evaluates the impact of financial incentives on healthcare professional behaviour and patient outcomes .
Incentives for Community Treatment Mental Illness Management Services
Serving people with mental and other chronic illnesses in community setting s may improve compliance and satisfaction with treatment , but existing payment mechanisms often favor office-based treatment . This study examines the effect of a change in Medicaid payment on the location and amount of service provided by case managers . Amounts of service given by treatment providers to 185 of their clients in community setting s and in mental health centers were compared before and after reimbursement changed from an all-inclusive prospect i ve rate to a mixed prospect ive/retrospective payment . Clients were enrolled in two different treatment programs : continuous treatment teams with extensive training in in vivo treatment , and a case management program that emphasized office-based treatment .  In-community service increased , and the amount of office-based treatment decreased . Continuous treatment teams increased in-community services more than case managers did ; case managers decreased office-based treatment more . There was no change in total amount of services provided . It was concluded that mixed prospect i ve and retrospective reimbursement can remove financial barriers to in-community treatment , but it works best in combination with a training program . Additional research is needed to determine the precise financial impact of such changes
Financial incentives may be effective in changing healthcare professional practice .
We found no evidence from review s that examined the effect of financial incentives on patient outcomes
BACKGROUND There is considerable interest in the effectiveness of financial incentives in the delivery of health care .
Incentives may be used in an attempt to increase the use of evidence -based treatments among healthcare professionals or to stimulate health professionals to change their clinical behaviour with respect to preventive , diagnostic and treatment decisions , or both .
Financial incentives are an extrinsic source of motivation and exist when an individual can expect a monetary transfer which is made conditional on acting in a particular way .
Since there are numerous review s performed within the healthcare area describing the effects of various types of financial incentives , it is important to summarise the effectiveness of these in an overview to discern which are most effective in changing health professionals ' behaviour and patient outcomes .
OBJECTIVES To conduct an overview of systematic review s that evaluates the impact of financial incentives on healthcare professional behaviour and patient outcomes .