Finding time to learn about advances made in medicine is challenging for healthcare providers. What about getting paid to learn?

At the Alliance Annual Conference in February 2023, we heard the story that an education program for physicians was completed in a hospital while the learners were compensated for the time spent on participation. In fact, it is not new that providers are being offered incentives (e.g., Amazon.com or Starbucks gift card) to complete educational courses.

While this may seem to be a great way to increase participation, but questions remain. In the recent years, incentives have been provided to practicing physicians from the payers for the purpose of changing practice behaviors and improving quality of care, but did it work? If the approach of paying learners to learn becomes a common practice, will providers choose the course that offers the greatest incentives instead of the greatest educational value?

For many, it is difficult to accept the idea of paying physicians for taking educational programs. As educators in the healthcare field, whether we are doing enough in providing the right content in the right format maybe the question that needs to be answered first.