Final answer:
Harvesting in healthcare refers to an organization allowing a service in decline to continue generating revenue without further investment, contrasting with other healthcare payment models such as the fee-for-service system and HMOs, which have their own sets of incentives and risks.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a health care organization decides to "ride the decline" and allow the service to generate as much revenue as possible without additional investment, it is indeed an example of harvesting. This approach contrasts with other payment models in the healthcare system such as the fee-for-service system and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). In a fee-for-service model, providers are reimbursed based on the cost of services they provide, incentivizing more services and potentially leading to overuse.
Conversely, HMOs reimburse medical care providers based on the number of patients, emphasizing resource allocation efficiency but also carrying the risk of adverse selection and a potential moral hazard, where insured patients may demand more care. Organizations may decide to harvest a service when it is no longer viable to invest in it, recognizing the service is in decline, yet there still exists an opportunity to generate profits from the existing operations. This strategy might be taken when dealing with over-harvesting of resources or in response to changes in demand and market sustainability.