Surgical Volume Anecdotes – Behavior is Changing
August 5, 2009 – 7:31 am by ScottSchoenvogelEric told me last night that the surgical volume in many of the surrounding hospitals seem to be down substantially. When talking to GI docs about their endoscopies, Eric noted that they were complaining that volumes for diagnostic endoscopies had dropped from 10 a week to 2 per doctor. When the doctor described what was happening, many patients were simply saying “Doc, can I just try the medicine first” and the doc has to say “sure”.
The point is that high deductible health plans and the economy are pushing people away from expensive procedures because those hit procedures are starting to hit patient pocket books in a way that matters. This trend just emphasizes the point that the path to behavior change is through the pocketbook and the responsible way to manage that change is by teaching people to become good healthcare consumers.
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