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July 3, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"GPs in MMR Jab Payout Plea"

Financial Times (www.ft.com) (07/03/02) P. 2; Timmins, Nicholas

In an effort to rescue the pediatric immunization program for measles, mumps, and rubella in the United Kingdom, leaders of family physician groups are calling for changes in the way doctors are compensated for vaccinating children.  Currently, physicians are paid almost 1,000 pounds if they vaccinate 70 percent of the children they see, and they receive almost 3,000 pounds for reaching 90 percent of the children on their lists. However, Dr. Simon Fradd, a member of the British Medical Association's family doctors' committee, noted that the payment system is making some parents mistrust physicians' advice that their children should be vaccinated.  "They realize that doctors have a financial interest in achieving a given level of coverage," Fradd said.

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