Effects of Incentives on Economic Behavior and Productivity of Psychiatric Residents

Abstract

An incentive plan which encouraged increased productivity and an increased awareness of the importance of fee collection both for ongoing therapy and departmental revenues, was introduced into a psychiatric outpatient clinic staffed by residents. The overall performance and attitudes about fee collections were compared to the year prior to the introduction of the incentive plan. An increase in the number of patient-hours seen by residents was observed. There was no evidence of abuse of the incentive system nor change in patient’s attitudes based on survey questionnaires. The author suggests that using incentive systems to improve performance are preferable to regulatory systems and that this is an important method of financing residency training. It appears that an incentive program alone does not increase a resident’s tendency to explore with his supervisors his own difficulties surrounding patient fees. The author suggests a mechanism that might further facilitate this end.