Performance based supplementary payment systems in istanbul public hospitals

Abstract

Since 2003 new healthcare reforms have been implemented in Turkey. Although, the healthcare system has gone through modifications for the past several years; there is insufficient research to demonstrate the effects of these changes. This paper aims to address the issues in the supplementary payment systems, which are one of the recent changes of the healthcare system in the country. This study is mainly based on a review of the relevant professional literature, a research and interpretation of supplementary payment in the public hospitals. This is a research as well as an assessment work done in secondary and tertiary care hospitals. Performance based supplementary payment system in public hospitals aims to provide bonuses to health care employees like physicians, nurses, etc. The bonus is given to professionals, who produce the qualified health services based on records by the evaluation of the whole institution. Financing of supplementary payment system in Turkey is mainly based on social security premiums. Consequently, balance of income and expenditures at hospitals is needed to be followed sensitively. According to this study, physicians’ productivity has increased but number of patients per physician has decreased. Also, the amount of performance paid to the physician for their specialty has decreased. Physicians like cardiologists can benefit more from the pay for performance system as their work contributions are paid more compared to internist work. Also secondary care hospital staffs were better paid compared to tertiary care hospitals because more critical cases are sent to tertiary care and treatment of such cases are of high cost. The reforms resulted satisfactory and very successful improvement in healthcare performance. The main health indicators are now better than at the beginning of the transition period. The sustainability of the reform processes will cause further improvement in the near future. The number of treatments per patient is increased not the number of patient and this may cause an escalated demand. Some precaution such as to control referral of a patient to a tertiary care when the care is possible in the secondary care units is needed to be taken. Complicated or critical patients mean great cost to hospital’s revolving funds which means less money to the health staff via pay for performance system in secondary and especially tertiary care.