Incentive policies for retention of physicians in the private health sector in Portugal

Abstract

<p align="justify">The high demand for quality healthcare services in Portugal is generating concerns about meeting the optimum number of healthcare professionals in the private sector such as doctors and clinicians. Critical interventions are currently in progress aiming to provide quality healthcare that will be accessible and sustainable through actionable retention strategies such as investing and developing the human capital, introducing better conditions of service to attract and retain talent in the private healthcare sector, and prioritizing the needs of patients. The objective of this study is to understand which factors promote the migration of physicians from the public to the private sector according to the theoretical assumptions of incentives. In this context, a phenomenological study was carried out, using semi-structured interviews of fifteen physicians working in the private health network. Content analysis was done using NVivo 12. The results indicate that performance evaluation in the private sector exists but has no alignment with incentives. The condition makes the private healthcare sector unattractive, however, other policies of remuneration remain promising. Current proposals that could revive the image of the sector include collective decision-making and strong labour relations advocacy for physicians in the private sector.</p>