Pay-for-performance (P4P) is an approach whereby individuals, teams or facilities within the health system are given money or other rewards for meeting service‐related targets, carrying out specific tasks or for meeting specific quality or health outcome thresholds. P4P has been one of the most ideologically charged topics in recent years in global health. It has attracted considerable investment, promotion, innovation, and assessment, but the issue of its effectiveness, efficiency and long‐term effects remains controversial.
A newly published Cochrane Library Editorial explores the challenges encountered by those who have conducted P4P systematic reviews and offers suggestions for future reviews and research on P4P. Karin Diaconu, lead author from Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, says:
“This editorial offers an overview of 4 challenges we met with when evaluating 171 studies on pay-for-performance for systematic reviews. It also provides our reflections on the priorities for future evidence syntheses. We hope this editorial will help guide future studies and evidence synthesis projects about P4P.”
- Read the Cochrane Library Editorial ‘Appraising pay‐for‐performance in healthcare in low‐ and middle‐income countries through systematic reviews: reflections from two teams’
- Read the Cochrane Review ‘Paying for performance to improve the delivery of health interventions in low‐ and middle‐income countries’
- Listen podcast about review
