Study Of Physician And Patient Communication Identifies Missed Opportunities To Help Reduce Patients' Out-Of-Pocket Spending.
Published
Journal Article
Some experts contend that requiring patients to pay out of pocket for a portion of their care will bring consumer discipline to health care markets. But are physicians prepared to help patients factor out-of-pocket expenses into medical decisions? In this qualitative study of audiorecorded clinical encounters, we identified physician behaviors that stand in the way of helping patients navigate out-of-pocket spending. Some behaviors reflected a failure to fully engage with patients' financial concerns, from never acknowledging such concerns to dismissing them too quickly. Other behaviors reflected a failure to resolve uncertainty about out-of-pocket expenses or reliance on temporary solutions without making long-term plans to reduce spending. Many of these failures resulted from systemic barriers to health care spending conversations, such as a lack of price transparency. For consumer health care markets to work as intended, physicians need to be prepared to help patients navigate out-of-pocket expenses when financial concerns arise during clinical encounters.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Ubel, PA; Zhang, CJ; Hesson, A; Davis, JK; Kirby, C; Barnett, J; Hunter, WG
Published Date
- April 2016
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 35 / 4
Start / End Page
- 654 - 661
PubMed ID
- 27044966
Pubmed Central ID
- 27044966
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1544-5208
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0278-2715
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1280
Language
- eng