Cancer Prevention & Control, Provider-Oriented Screening Interventions: Provider Incentives (2008 Archived Review)

Research Gaps

The effectiveness of provider incentives in increasing colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer screening has not been established. Despite great interest in and use of provider incentives in many organized health systems (e.g., pay-for-performance models), relatively little published scientific information is available to assess the effectiveness of incentives in increasing screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. Several research questions remain.

Effectiveness

• Are provider incentives effective in increasing screening for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancers?
• Do provider incentives incrementally increase the effectiveness of provider assessment and feedback interventions?

Economic Efficiency

• What are the most cost-effective approaches to reward cancer screening performance and/or referral by practitioners?

Other Positive or Negative Effects

• Do these interventions result in other positive or negative changes in health behavior or use of healthcare services