Politico, Kaiser Health News: Displaying lab test costs in electronic health records doesn’t deter doctors from ordering them
Patients are stuck for a blood draw almost every day they are admitted to a hospital. Lab tests are one of the most common orders placed by doctors, but research indicates that nearly one-third of these tests are not needed. Hospitals nationwide are seeking ways to use price transparency – displaying the price of lab tests at the time when doctors are placing the order – to nudge doctors to consider whether the benefits are worth the cost. But, results of a new study by Mitesh Patel, MD, MBA, MS, show that simply displaying the Medicare allowable fees did not have an overall impact on how clinicians ordered these tests. “Future price transparency interventions may need to be better targeted, framed, or combined with other approaches to be more successful,” says Patel.