How to pay primary care physicians for SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations: An analysis of 43 EU and OECD countries. Issue 6 (June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Milstein, Ricarda; Shatrov, Kosta; Schmutz, Lea Miranda; Blankart, Carl Rudolf
• Is Part Of: Health policy. Volume 126:Issue 6(2022)
• Page Start: 485
• Page End: 492
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Subjects: Payment schemes -- COVID-19 -- Primary care physicians -- Reimbursement -- Tariff schemes; Medical education -- Periodicals; Medical policy -- Periodicals; Delivery of Health Care -- Periodicals; Education, Medical -- Periodicals; Health Education -- Periodicals; Health Planning -- Periodicals; Public Policy -- Periodicals; Enseignement médical -- Périodiques; Politique sanitaire -- Périodiques; Medical education; Medical policy; Periodicals; Electronic journals; Electronic journals; 362.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.03.008
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0168-8510

Abstract

Highlights: Primary care physicians (PCPs) play a vital part in providing access to vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Payment schemes differ across 43 EU and OECD countries. Most countries apply payment schemes that reward PCPs for their activity. Some countries use additional pay-for-performance elements to improve access. Abstract: Vaccinations are crucial to fighting SARS-CoV-2, and high coverage rates can in most countries probably only be achieved with the involvement of primary care physicians (PCPs). We aimed to explore how SARS-CoV-2 vaccination payment schemes in 43 countries differ with regard to the (i) type of payment scheme, (ii) amount paid, (iii) degree of bundling, and (iv) use of pay-for-performance elements. We collected information on payments and health system characteristics, such as PCP income and employment status, in all EU and OECD countries over time. We regressed the payment amount on the income of PCPs for countries with activity-dependent schemes using a linear regression (OLS), and we interpreted the residuals of this regression as a vaccination payment index. The majority of countries (30/43) had chosen payment schemes that reward PCPs for the activity they perform. Seventeen countries paid less per vaccination than the income-adjusted average, whereas 13 countries paid more. Twelve countries used pay-for-performance elements.