A consumer perspective on physician payment reform.

Changing the incentives to providers through payment policy is a critical step toward realizing our goals for excellent health care performance. As a part of the needed transformation, both providers and consumers will need to be mindful of resources and of the fact that more services do not always lead to better health. Without serious efforts to promote engagement by patients and caregivers, however, the goals of payment reform could be defeated. Patients can be partners in achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness with aggressive decision support based on best practices. We cannot put physicians' incomes and patients' well-being on a collision course.