Behavioural insights in the underuse of cardiac resynchronisation therapy in heart failure: a pilot survey on incentive perceptions among referring cardiologists

Joan Costa-i-Font (), Georgiana Miler-Raicu, Elena Arbelo, Ruben Casado-Arroyo, Aya Sami, Eric Wei Seong Tee, Joseph Hazel, Laurent Roten, Tobias Reichlin, Haran Burri, Khaled Albouaini and Nikola Kozhuharov ()
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Joan Costa-i-Font: London School of Economics and Political Science
Georgiana Miler-Raicu: Inselspital, University Hospital Bern
Elena Arbelo: University of Barcelona
Ruben Casado-Arroyo: H.U.B.-Hôpital Erasme, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Aya Sami: London School of Economics and Political Science
Eric Wei Seong Tee: London School of Economics and Political Science
Joseph Hazel: London School of Economics and Political Science
Laurent Roten: Inselspital, University Hospital Bern
Tobias Reichlin: Inselspital, University Hospital Bern
Haran Burri: University Hospital of Geneva
Khaled Albouaini: Royal Liverpool University Hospital
Nikola Kozhuharov: Inselspital, University Hospital Bern
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Joan Costa-i-Font

Health Economics Review, 2025, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Aims Heart failure is a leading cause of hospitalisation in patients over 50, significantly impacting both quality of life and survival. Despite the well-established benefits of Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT), its utilisation in clinical practice remains suboptimal. Traditional incentives, have shown limited effectiveness in increasing CRT referrals. This manuscript explores how behavioural economics can offer a novel framework for improving CRT uptake by leveraging behavioural incentives, particularly choice architecture and social incentives, to influence physician referral patterns. Methods and results We underscore key concepts of behavioural economics, including choice architecture (nudges, reference points, sludges), cognitive biases (status quo bias, overconfidence bias, availability bias), and social incentives, which are applied in designing incentives to promote CRT referrals. A survey was conducted with 51 physicians from six European countries, including electrophysiologists, heart failure specialists, and general cardiologists, recruited through cardiology networks and personal contacts. Participants rated their perceptions of five incentive strategies using a Likert scale (1–5). Behavioural incentives, such as peer comparison through league tables (social incentive) and decision prompts in electronic health records (choice architecture nudge), were perceived as more effective than traditional financial incentives, with a median Likert score of 4.0 [IQR 3.0–5.0] versus 2.5 [IQR 1.5–3.0] for traditional incentives (p

Keywords: Behavioural health economics; Choice architecture; Cognitive biases; Social incentives; Heart failure; Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1186/s13561-025-00657-0

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