| Patient-Directed Financial Incentives to Motivate Doctor Visits
Who is the intervention targeting?
African American, Hispanic, and Asian patients with hypertension (a cardiovascular disease risk factor) What intervention is being evaluated?
Patients will be sent a letter with hypertension education materials, a wallet-size blood pressure health record, and an offer to receive a $15 American Express gift card if they visit their doctor within the next two months. Participating physicians will receive a letter introducing the initiative and its goals, educational materials on plain language communication with patients, and a copy of the materials being sent to their patients.
Where is this intervention taking place?
A health services company whose Mid-Atlantic market represents over 2000 employers with over 1 million employees.
Partnering Organizations
CIGNA HealthCare (Lead Organization)
RAND Corporation
Why might this approach work?
Activating a patient to see their physician should improve both short- and long-term health outcomes. Insured, low income minority populations will be motivated to visit their physician and improve their hypertension self-management by receiving relatively small financial incentives, especially if the incentives offset barriers to care such as the costs of transportation and childcare.
How will this intervention be evaluated?
Eligible members with hypertension will be randomized into one of three arms:
Blood pressure levels and related measures will be collected at 6- and 12-month follow-up periods. Formative evaluation methods will be used to gain a deeper understanding of the processes through which the incentive programs work (or do not work).
Principal Investigators:
Kathryn Pierce, BSN, MBA
Director of Clinical Quality, CIGNA HealthCare
Laurie Martin, ScD, MPH
Associate Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
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