"Millions of dollars in incentives paid to B.C. doctors for treating patients with multiple chronic illnesses didn’t reduce hospital visits or increase patient care in the first years after its introduction, says research published today.
The study, led by Simon Fraser University’s Ruth Lavergne, concludes that a 2007 “complex care management” fee merely increased compensation for family doctors rather than reducing health costs or improving treatment, as predicted.“This is just one study, but there are others in Canada and internationally that point to the fact that payment incentives alone aren’t likely to bring about the changes we need in primary care,” Lavergne, an assistant professor in the health sciences faculty, said in an interview.
The complex care fee cost taxpayers an annual average of $43 million in its first three years.
The most recent Ministry of Health fee-for-service report shows doctors billed just under $56 million to oversee 174,893 complex patients in 2014-15, in addition to regular office visit fees and other billing."
No comments:
Post a Comment