The use of financial incentives to directly reward primary healthcare performance and quality, is increasing in a number of countries. A systematic review prepared by the Cochrane Collaboration and published in the Cochrane Library, looked at randomised controlled trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted time series analyses that evaluated the impact of different financial interventions on the quality of care delivered by primary healthcare physicians.
They found that there is insufficient evidence to support or not support the use of financial incentives, and the review concludes that the implementation of financial incentive schemes for primary care practitioners should therefore proceed with caution.
Cochrane review: The effect of financial incentives on the quality of health care provided by primary care physicians (61 pages, full review including references and list of studies)