Pay-for-performance: toxic to quality? Insights from behavioral economics.
Journal Article (Review;Journal Article)
Pay-for-performance programs aim to upgrade health care quality by tailoring financial incentives for desirable behaviors. While Medicare and many private insurers are charging ahead with pay-for-performance, researchers have been unable to show that it benefits patients. Findings from the new field of behavioral economics challenge the traditional economic view that monetary reward either is the only motivator or is simply additive to intrinsic motivators such as purpose or altruism. Studies have shown that monetary rewards can undermine motivation and worsen performance on cognitively complex and intrinsically rewarding work, suggesting that pay-for-performance may backfire.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Himmelstein, DU; Ariely, D; Woolhandler, S
Published Date
- January 2014
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 44 / 2
Start / End Page
- 203 - 214
PubMed ID
- 24919299
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1541-4469
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0020-7314
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.2190/hs.44.2.a
Language
- eng