Incentives for dentists in public service : evidence from a natural experiment
- Cary : Oxford University, july 2010
How can independent physician contractors be motivated to contribute to public service health care? We consider evidence, derived from a natural experiment in the UK publicly funded dental care system, concerning the efficacy of using a contractual mechanism that provides explicits rewards for increased service provision against the alternative of offering an employment-like relationship. We find that dentists who were moved from quasi-employment to an activity-based incentive contract increased their activity in the publicly funded service by 26%. We also find and quantify evidence of considerable variation between suppliers, which suggests that factors such as an individual's intrisic motivation, professional standards, and preferences are important moderators of financial incentives