The financial imperative of physicians to control demand of laboratory testing.
Affiliation
Beaumont Hospital, Beaumont, Dublin 9. murphyr@wudosis.wustl.eduIssue Date
2012-02-01T10:00:22ZMeSH
AdultClinical Laboratory Techniques/*economics
Female
Health Care Costs/statistics & numerical data
Health Services Needs and Demand/*statistics & numerical data
Humans
Ireland
Male
*Physician's Role
Unnecessary Procedures/*economics
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Ir Med J. 2011 Jan;104(1):15-7.Journal
Irish medical journalPubMed ID
21387879Abstract
It is an integral component of doctor's duty of care to understand the significant impact laboratory testing has on the expense an ultimate quality of healthcare patients receive, yet the costs of these tests are poorly perceived. Utilising semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, we assessed surgeon's perceived costs of two commonly encountered clinical scenarios requiring out of hours laboratory testing. Of the 35 participants only 23.3% (n = 7) accurately estimated the overall cost. The most expensive test was "Type and Screen" at Euro 83, with 77.3% (n = 17) underestimating the cost. Non-consultant hospital doctors qualified for 3 years were more likely to underestimate on-call costs (p = 0.042). It is of utmost importance to improve the knowledge of all surgeons of the financial implications of investigations. Through education we can potentially reduce un-warranted costs and fulfill our duty of care in the most cost efficient manner.Language
engISSN
0332-3102 (Print)0332-3102 (Linking)
Collections
Related articles
- Computerized system alerts docs to costs.
- Issue date: 1999 Sep
- Cost-consciousness among Swiss doctors: a cross-sectional survey.
- Authors: Bovier PA, Martin DP, Perneger TV
- Issue date: 2005 Nov 10
- The American difference in health care costs: is there a problem? Is medical necessity the solution?
- Authors: Jost TS
- Issue date: 1999 Dec
- Changing the course of things: costs enter medical education.
- Authors: Friedman E
- Issue date: 1979 May 1
- Do family physicians know the costs of medical care? Survey in British Columbia.
- Authors: Allan GM, Innes GD
- Issue date: 2004 Feb