Pros and cons of the UK’s GP reward scheme

Improvements in quality of care associated with the GP pay for performance scheme in the UK appear to have been achieved at the expense of small detrimental effects on non-incentivised aspects of care.

The findings raise important questions about the potential unintended consequences of financial incentive schemes, in particular that they could lead to neglect of non-incentivised aspects of patient care.

Since 2004, an incentive scheme known as the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), has linked one quarter of UK general practitioner income to performance on a range of quality indicators.