---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lets take away the incentives to do 'to'…"
description: "\"Lets take away the incentives to do 'to' patients and instead create incentives to do 'for' patients, to be 'with' patients. We don't need to do compar..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/abraham-verghese-1533_ask_lets-take-away-the-incentives-to-do-to-p_234000.png"
---

#  Lets take away the incentives to do 'to' patients and…

![“Lets take away the incentives to do 'to' patients and instead create incentives to do 'for' patients, to be 'with' patients. We don't need to do comparative effectiveness trials to see if that works; we can just ask patients.” quote by Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/abraham-verghese-1533_ask_lets-take-away-the-incentives-to-do-to-p_234000.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/abraham-verghese-1533_ask_lets-take-away-the-incentives-to-do-to-p_234000.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d6/abraham-verghese-1533_ask_lets-take-away-the-incentives-to-do-to-p_234000.png)

> “Lets take away the incentives to do 'to' patients and instead create incentives to do 'for' patients, to be 'with' patients. We don't need to do comparative effectiveness trials to see if that works; we can just ask patients.”

[Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Proposes shifting healthcare incentives from procedural to patient-centered care, using patient feedback over comparative trials.

**In simple terms:** Focus on patient-centered incentives.

Key Takeaway

Align care incentives with patient needs.

Themes

healthcare reform patient centric incentives

Mood

reflective hopeful

Type

policy practical

When to use this quote

- clinical practice
- policy making
- patient surveys
- quality improvement

Key Concepts

patient-reported outcomes value-based care

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we measure patient-centered success?
- What obstacles exist in redesigning incentive structures?

A Different Perspective

Changing incentives may face entrenched industry resistance.

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