Cash for Lower Cholesterol

likkls

new study offered cash rewards to doctors and the patients to help them lower their cholesterol levels. Yup, you read that right. Here is more:

  • Surprisingly, the program was only successful when both the doctor and patient were paid to work together to achieve the common goal, the study found. Patients who shared a financial incentive with their doctor to lower their levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol achieved a statistically significant reduction after a year of treatment, the study authors said.
  • LDL cholesterol levels didn’t significantly drop if the cold hard cash was offered to either the patient or the doctor alone, the study revealed.

So, that is what it comes down to, paying the doc and the patient. My question is, for what metrics?  If you use cholesterol, which marker?  And wouldn’t this drive more medication use?