Pay for performance: ACG guide for physicians

This document is the first official American College of Gastroenterology policy statement on Pay for Performance (P4P) and was approved by the ACG Board of Trustees in June 2007. This policy statement is not intended to promote or condone P4P but rather to inform members of the College as to the recommended approach to development and critical analysis of these measures. The objectives of this report are 2-fold: 1. To offer guidance to the "stakeholder" community as to the ACG leadership's rationale and evaluation process of these proposed health care policy decisions. 2. To provide to those parties involved in the development of P4P programs for gastroenterology, a template outline of key areas and principles that the ACG endorses as important parameters to define an appropriate process for a valid P4P program. The work group from the ACG Task Force included representatives from the ACG Board of Trustees as well as the following ACG committees: National Affairs, Patient Care, Practice Management, Practice Parameters, and Research. In the preparation of this document every effort was made to avoid any potential, actual, or perceived conflict of interest that might result from role as consultant/advisory board/steering committee/stock ownership in health care industry related businesses. There were no declared conflicts by the work group.