Pay-for-performance targets set for general practitioners in the United Kingdom are failing to improve the health of patients with high blood pressure, according to a joint study funded by U.K., U.S., and Canadian research organizations.

The study, which presents the strongest evidence yet that pay for performance does not offer any benefit, was carried out by Dr. Brian Serumaga, a Harvard Medical School fellow in pharmaceutical policy research in the Division of Primary Care and School of Pharmacy at The University of Nottingham.

Working with a team of experts from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, Serumaga focused on patients with hypertension (high blood pressure). The results of his research, which involved nearly half a million patients, have been published in the online journal bmj.com.

About half of people aged over 50 have hypertension, which is one of the most treatable, but undertreated, cardiovascular risk factors. Hypertension is the most common reason for a visit to the doctors in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

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