Are oncologists' financial incentives aligned with quality care?

Yu-Ning Wong, MD, MSCE e-mail: [email protected]⇓ Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA . In the article that accompanies this editorial, Malin et al use data from the Cancer Outcomes Research and Surveillance study (CanCORS) to measure the association between medical oncologists' compensation structure and their perception of whether their income will increase if they administer chemotherapy or growth factors. Compared with medical oncologists who were paid a fixed salary, those who were in fee-for-service (FFS) practices or who were paid a salary with a productivity incentive were more likely to anticipate greater income if they administered chemotherapy (odds ratio, 7.05 and 7.52, respectively; both P < .001). Similar associations were found for growth factor administration.