Pay more, get more? The influence of pay on doctors' behaviour.

Comment Pay more, get more? The influence of pay on doctors' behaviour Does the way in which doctors are paid for their work influence what they do? The article by Kristiansen and Holtedahl on page 481 suggests that it does. Norwegian doctors who were remunerated under a system that gave them 31 for home visits were more likely to do routine home visits than doctors who were paid 6 for such a visit. This is perhaps not surprising, and indeed it is reassuring that the doctors working under the two systems seemed equally likely to undertake home visits for acute illness. When the payments for night visits were increased in the United Kingdom, this did not appear to alter the underlying trend in night visiting rates, but resulted in more visits being carried out by general practitioners themselves, and fewer by deputising services.' In neither of these examples is it clear whether patients gain from increased home visiting, and indeed in the British example it is arguable that a remuneration system which encourages doctors to work during the night could lead to impaired performance the following day.