A review of pay-for-performance programs in the inpatient sector in OECD countries

Background: Across the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), pay-for-performance (P4P) programs have been implemented in the inpatient sector to improve the quality of care provided by hospitals. However, little is known about whether such programs can live up to expectations. Thus far, evaluations and reviews have focused on the ambulatory care sector in Anglo-Saxon countries. The transferability of lessons learned to the inpatient sector, however, is limited. Objectives: We aimed to provide an overview of existing P4P programs in the inpatient sector in the OECD countries and to assemble information on their effects. Furthermore, we attempted to identify whether evaluations of such programs allow preliminary conclusions to be drawn about the effects of P4P. [...]