Financial Incentives and the Health Workforce

Changes to the remuneration of medical practitioners are currently being considered in Australia and this paper discusses financial incentives in healthcare markets and their effects on health professionals' behaviour. After defining incentives, the paper focuses on the design of incentive schemes for the health workforce. It discusses several issues that should be considered when designing incentives, illustrated with some Australian examples. The set of principles proposed in the paper might be used to inform the current debate about revisions to the incentives that are faced by medical practitioners in Australia. The paper is published in the Australian Health Review Vol. 35 No. 3. Please contact your Library if this link to the paper does not give you access.