This paper reviews the evidence on the promise of behavioral economics to improve health outcomes through provider-facing interventions in five critical health areas. The analysis draws from the limited existing evidence base on this topic to suggest where and how behavioral economics interventions may be most impactful and where further research may contribute most to building the knowledge base.

For each of  27 provider behaviors, the authors reviewed the evidence on three questions:

1. What is the potential link between this provider behavior and health outcomes?
2. What interventions (behavioral and otherwise) have attempted to improve this provider behavior, and what is the evidence of their effectiveness?
3. To what extent are the challenges driven by behavioral, rather than structural (i.e., infrastructure or clinical skills), factors?