Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27527484›Full record

ArticleCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2016

A population-based analysis of incentive payments to primary care physicians for the care of patients with complex disease.

M Ruth Lavergne, Michael R Law, Sandra Peterson, Scott Garrison, Jeremiah Hurley, Lucy Cheng, Kimberlyn McGrail

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
19.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

36 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Effects of pay-for-performance for primary care physicians on diabetes outcomes in single-payer health systems: a systematic review.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2019
    Pooled it
  2. Financial incentives and information provision for post-pandemic primary care quality recovery: a longitudinal study in Catalonia.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
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  5. Will blended family physician payment models revive primary care in Canada?Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2025
    Article
  6. Do compensation models affect family physician job satisfaction? Scoping review.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2025
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  19. Aligning innovations in health funding with innovations in care.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2018
    Article
  20. Reflections of the quality of primary care in Canada and Israel.Israel journal of health policy research · 2018
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

M Ruth LavergneCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine (Lavergne, Law, Peterson, Cheng, McGrail), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Lavergne), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Department of Family Medicine (Garrison), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Department of Economics (Hurley), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont. ruth_lavergne@sfu.ca.
Michael R LawCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine (Lavergne, Law, Peterson, Cheng, McGrail), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Lavergne), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Department of Family Medicine (Garrison), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Department of Economics (Hurley), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Sandra PetersonCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine (Lavergne, Law, Peterson, Cheng, McGrail), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Lavergne), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Department of Family Medicine (Garrison), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Department of Economics (Hurley), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Scott GarrisonCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine (Lavergne, Law, Peterson, Cheng, McGrail), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Lavergne), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Department of Family Medicine (Garrison), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Department of Economics (Hurley), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Jeremiah HurleyCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine (Lavergne, Law, Peterson, Cheng, McGrail), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Lavergne), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Department of Family Medicine (Garrison), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Department of Economics (Hurley), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Lucy ChengCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine (Lavergne, Law, Peterson, Cheng, McGrail), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Lavergne), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Department of Family Medicine (Garrison), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Department of Economics (Hurley), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Kimberlyn McGrailCentre for Health Services and Policy Research, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine (Lavergne, Law, Peterson, Cheng, McGrail), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Faculty of Health Sciences (Lavergne), Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC; Department of Family Medicine (Garrison), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta.; Department of Economics (Hurley), McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont.
Simon Fraser University · CAUniversity of British Columbia · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn 2007, the province of British Columbia implemented incentive payments to primary care physicians for the provision of comprehensive, continuous, guideline-informed care for patients with 2 or more chronic conditions. We examined the impact of this program on primary care access and continuity, rates of hospital admission and costs.

methodsWe analyzed all BC patients who qualified for the incentive based on their diagnostic profile. We tracked primary care contacts and continuity, hospital admissions (total, via the emergency department and for targeted conditions), and cost of physician services, hospital care and pharmaceuticals, for 24 months before and 24 months after the intervention.

resultsOf 155 754 eligible patients, 63.7% had at least 1 incentive payment billed. Incentive payments had no impact on primary care contacts (change in contacts per patient per month: 0.016, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.047 to 0.078) or continuity of care (mean monthly change: 0.012, 95% CI -0.001 to 0.024) and were associated with increased total rates of hospital admission (change in hospital admissions per 1000 patients per month: 1.46, 95% CI 0.04 to 2.89), relative to preintervention trends. Annual costs per patient did not decline (mean change: $455.81, 95% CI -$2.44 to $914.08).

interpretationBritish Columbia's $240-million investment in this program improved compensation for physicians doing the important work of caring for complex patients, but did not appear to improve primary care access or continuity, or constrain resource use elsewhere in the health care system. Policymakers should consider other strategies to improve care for this patient population.

Indexed as

Physicians, Primary CareReimbursement, IncentiveAdultAgedAsthmaBritish ColumbiaCerebrovascular DisordersChronic DiseaseComorbidityContinuity of Patient CareCosts and Cost AnalysisDiabetes MellitusDrug CostsFemaleHealth Care CostsHealth Services Accessibility

Identifiers

PMID27527484
PMCPMC5056888
OpenAlexW2509977891

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.