Performance measures and pay for performance.

Performance measures and pay for performance are terms creating considerable angst among physicians today. Understanding the driving forces behind these concepts will help practitioners to strategically plan for their impact on individual physician practices and on health care in general. Medical societies can play a vital role in assisting physicians in the identification of appropriate performance measures used to gauge physician practices and by supporting efforts to develop equitable principles driving reimbursement based on adherence to those measures. Performance measures and pay for performance are terms evoking considerable angst across all sectors of the health services industry.