The
headline that caught my attention this morning in my daily medical information
was this:
The article went on to describe an experiment
wherein low income people were given cash incentives ranging from $0 to $50
and they discovered that “(s)ubjects in the $50 and $25 incentive groups
were more likely to see a primary care provider (77 percent and 74 percent, respectively)
compared to the $0 group (68 percent). In the control group, 61 percent
received care.”
Okay, we got them to the doctor (with a bribe). Now what are we going to do to make sure that they follow through on their doctor’s
instructions? The issue is not getting them to the doctor, but making sure that
they follow the directions to stay healthy.
Over the course of my 20-year medical career, both as a
mid-level provider and as an Administrator, the most frustrating part of
medical care is the non-compliant patient. My first job out of Graduate School
as a newly minted Social Worker was working with non-compliant Adolescent Type
1 Diabetics. The facility where I worked was created by a doctor who was tired
of seeing his patients ending up in the ER for blood sugar issues, when it
could be so easily controlled.
The easy part is getting them to the doctor, the hard part is
having them follow their treatment plan.
So let's follow the the logic of this study: patients will only go to
a Primary Care Doctor if they are externally rewarded, and the prospect of getting
medical care to help them feel better is not incentive enough. Then what, pray tell, will
motivate them to follow directions to stay healthy?
Next week’s big scientific breakthrough: Water is wet.
- A c-note for every 10 lbs the morbidly obese patient loses?
- $25.00 every time a Diabetic tests their sugar?
- How about $150.00 if that COPD patient uses their inhaler every day?
Next week’s big scientific breakthrough: Water is wet.
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