"All the money in the world …" patient perspectives regarding the influence of financial incentives.

Objective: To analyze patient perspectives of the use of financial incentives in a hypertension intervention. Study Setting. Twelve Veterans Affairs primary care clinics over a 9-month period.

Part I, patient perspective: activating patients to engage their providers in the use of evidence-based medicine: a qualitative evaluation of the VA Project to Implement Diuretics (VAPID).

Background: This qualitative evaluation follows a randomized-control trial of a patient activation intervention in which hypertensive patients received a letter in the mail asking them to discuss thiazide diuretics with their provider. Results of the parent study indicated that the intervention was effective at facilitating discussions between patients and providers and enhancing thiazide prescribing rates. In the research presented here, our objective was to interview patients to determine their receptivity to patient activation, a potential leverage point for implementing interventions.