APA Dictionary of Psychology
pay-for-performance (P4P; PFP)
- adj.
- denoting a method of payment for health care services in which physicians, hospitals, and other providers receive financial rewards for delivering good patient care, as assessed by patient self-reports and various process-based measures (e.g., rates of adherence to treatment, rates of preventive care, use of information technology). Intended to improve the quality and value of health care, P4P programs are expanding rapidly worldwide and take a variety of forms according to their sponsor type (e.g., health plan, employer group), reward size, reward distribution method, and other factors. There is, however, limited empirical evidence of P4P effectiveness and growing concern about possible unintended consequences, such as provider avoidance of poorer or sicker patients, provider neglect of activities in areas not targeted for financial rewards, and provider discounting of patients’ treatment preferences. Critics also claim that P4P incentives largely reward those providers with higher performance at baseline, who already are eligible to receive bonuses and therefore have little motivation to improve further. Additionally, the majority of existing P4P programs target general medical care—primary care physicians in particular—and have yet to significantly influence behavioral health. Compare fee-for-service.
- more generally, describing any system of compensation based on measures of work quality or productivity. For example, P4P has a long history in industrial settings, and a growing trend in schools has been the development of systems of accountability designed to enhance the quality of education.
Updated on 04/19/2018
ADVERTISEMENT
Word of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT