The best bonus programs created by HR reward employees for meeting goals. But that doesn’t mean every goal-oriented bonus program is a good thing.
Take, for example, a proposal by Imperial College Healthcare Trust in London, England. It wants to give cash bonuses to surgeons for saving lives.
Britain’s largest hospital trust also proposes cash rewards for every time a patient leaves a hospital without picking up an infection, and other rewards would be given for cost-effectiveness.
The Trust is looking into a pilot program which would start with just one operation performed by a particular surgical team.
The Patients Association is concerned the bonus program would discourage operations on higher risk populations such as the elderly. It also says doctors have a duty to provide the best treatment for patients without receiving cash incentives on top of their salaries.
The British Medical Association calls the plan “too simplistic.”
The pilot program might start later this year.
Does this take bonus programs too far? Tell us what you think.
