A new study suggests doctors need to get into the habit of talking with patients about the costs of care, including tests, operations, and medications.
The point becomes even more apparent as more and more Americans are either forced to accept or opt for high-deductible or consumer-driven health insurance.
The study, published in the medical journal Health Affairs, found that in 2,000 transcripts of patient-physician conversations concerning diagnoses and treatment of breast cancer, arthritis, and depression, patients often voiced concerns about the financial implication of treatment. But unfortunately, the doctors barely responded to these worries.
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A separate study recently found that physicians only mention treatment costs to patients 30 percent of the time.
The consequences of glossing over money concerns expressed by patients are medical as well as financial. Patients are less likely to go through with a treatment that is expensive. It was in recognition of this problem that the American College of Physicians recommended last year that doctors prescribe generic medication over name brands whenever possible, arguing that a patient is more likely to take the generic medication as prescribed.
In a health care environment in which many patients have historically been shielded from the direct costs of their care by third party payers, physicians are not used to getting complaints about costs from patients. That is likely already changing.
But as Jonathan Kolstad, a Berkeley economics professor who has studied medical consumers, explained to Kaiser Health News, "doctors don't know" the price of many of the drugs they're prescribing.
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