Some doctors in England are being offered thousands of pounds to cut the number of patients being sent to hospital, an investigation has found.
GP practices are being paid to help local NHS groups limit the number of patient referrals and cut costs, the doctors' magazine Pulse found.
Appointments affected include scans and consultations with specialists - including those for cancer patients.
The British Medical Association said such incentives were "misguided".
'Crude, salesman-like bonuses'
At least nine clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were offering GP practices payments for hitting targets, according to Pulse's investigation.
In one case a CCG was offering practices more than £11,000 to reduce new outpatient attendances, follow-ups, A&E attendances and emergency admissions by 1%, compared with 2014/15.
Another CCG offered the equivalent of more than £6,000 to practices that reduce outpatient referrals to the same level as the 25% with the lowest referral rates - which include two-week urgent cancer referrals - in 2014/15.
One CCG told Pulse it had considered the "full impact" of the incentive scheme and was "confident that there is no conflict of interest".
Another said urgent care and two-week cancer referrals "cannot be separated" from its referral targets.
Pulse said that one scheme had already been looked at by the General Medical Council, the body which regulates medical standards in the UK, after local GP leaders expressed their concern.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34421115
