Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Ethics and Professionalism
Lecture:Contemporary topics in medical ethics
Slide content:Physician Compensation Payment for each service Can motivate physicians to inappropriately increase the number of services they provide Can motivate selection of services that have a high profit margin Flat fee per patient Can motivate undertreatment 15
Slide notes:One major area in which physicians face conflicts of interest is compensation for their services. Whether physicians are paid by the service or by the patient, their method of compensation involves potential conflicts of interest. When physicians are paid for each service they provide, they may find reasons to maximize their number of services. If they inappropriately provide unnecessary services, they are increasing health care spending at the expense of the patient and society. In addition, physicians might be motivated to select services with a high profit margin, such as diagnostic imaging, when it may not be appropriate. Physicians who are paid a flat fee per patient may be motivated to minimize the number of services they provide to each person. Compensation is just one example of the many kinds of conflicts of interest that physicians face in clinical practice. 15