Sharing Financial Incentives Between Patients and Physicians Led to Lower LDL Cholesterol Levels

Pay-for-performance studies, which assess the influence of physician incentives on achieving clinical outcomes, have shown short-term, but not long-term, effects. Studies of financial incentives to patients are sparse, and results have been mixed. In this study, U.S. investigators evaluated whether financial incentives improved medication adherence and lowered LDL cholesterol levels among 1503 patients at medium or high cardiovascular risk (mean age, 62); their 340 primary care physicians also participated.

Participants were randomized to one of four groups: physician financial incentives only, patient financial incentives only, both, or neither. Physicians received quarterly payments ($1,024 annually) if patients met predetermined LDL chole…