Because of a new mandate from Congress, the panel drafted its recommendations to reward the most efficient hospitals, doctors and clinics.

Do we really expect to reward doctors based on how often they diagnose rare leukemias in children?

The idea is to reward doctors who spend time consulting with patients, rather than those performing procedures.

Medicare might reward doctors and hospitals that received high marks from patients, officials said.

In the future, this data would permit Medicare to reward doctors who followed government guidelines.

One criticism is that pay-for-performance still rewards doctors for doing something.

If Congress decides to move the program forward, such data might in time be used to reward doctors who practice the best medicine.

Some companies have also rewarded doctors and drugstores for switching patients from one medication to another.

Some programs reward doctors financially for limiting services and costs.

That takes a lot of skill, and we don't reward doctors very much for that.