Commentary to: Medical ethics: enhanced or undermined by modes of payment?

Excerpt

In a recent contribution to this journal, Zweifel and Janus (2016)—henceforth ZJ—address the question whether “medical ethics [is] enhanced or undermined by modes of payment” (this at least is the title of the paper). In the conclusion, they answer this question by stating that “the claim that moving away from FFS (fee-for-service) undermines medical ethics is far too sweeping” and that “observed relationships…even may suggest that a transition to P4P (pay for performance) strengthens medical ethics.” The question is definitely an important one and the answer not trivial. Unfortunately, the method employed by ZJ for supporting their claim that prospective payment (PP) does not undermine medical ethics is unsuitable. …