Hospital system drops policy linking physician bonuses to fundraising referrals

After receiving some internal feedback, a hospital system based in Philadelphia says it has reversed a policy that linked bonus pay for some physicians to referrals to its fundraising office.

Jefferson Health, which includes 14 hospitals and employs more than 1,400 physicians, engages in a practice of referring patients to its fundraising office in the hope they will donate money to express their gratitude. Earlier this year, a spokesperson for the system said only departmental chairs were asked to hit referral targets, not other members of the medical staff, and that the move was done "in an effort to advance the culture of philanthropy."

At the time, physicians told The Philadelphia Inquirer that they were asked to refer at least one patient a month to the fundraising office, and that it could affect their annual bonuses. Speaking anonymously, they said some of their colleagues were worried the initiative could damage physician-patient relationship and they feared retribution.

Following the announcement this month that the policy had been reversed and the referral program would no longer have an incentive component, a Jefferson Health physician said physicians were pleased with the decision, but that it never should have happened in the first place.

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer