Financial incentives may improve hospital mortality rates, says study

PA 309/12 New research into controversial pay-for-performance schemes has suggested they may help to save the lives of NHS patients. A 'significant' fall in mortality rates for certain conditions emerged in a study by health experts and economists from the Universities of Nottingham, Manchester, Cambridge and Birmingham into the use of incentives at hospitals in the North West of England. They examined how the introduction of a scheme that paid hospitals bonuses based on measures of quality affected the delivery of emergency care. The initiative was found to be associated with a relative reduction in the mortality rate of six per cent over 18 months - equivalent to almost 900 lives saved. The study concludes that the possibility of incentives having a "substantial" effect on reducing deaths in NHS hospitals cannot be ruled out. Co-author Ruth McDonald, of Nottingham University Business School, claimed the findings could have major policy implications. She said: "Pay-for-performance schemes are being widely adopted, yet until now there's been little evidence that they improve patient outcomes.