Peter Ubel writes for Forbes about the cost-benefit decisions doctors and patients must make in the face of rising out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
Read the full article at: www.forbes.com
Ubel uses an example of a woman who must choose between a CT scan or a more thorough PET scan to check her body for cancerous tumors. Decisions like these must be made every day by patients who cannot afford the increasing out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Sometimes the decisions are simple, and a less expensive medical test will yield similar results. But what happens when a cheaper alternative is not as good? Are patients forced to settle for sub-standard care?
When people pay out-of-pocket for a significant portion of their medical expenses, we can expect them to make these kinds of tough decisions. Good decision-making requires doctors and patients to weigh the pros and cons of all available alternatives, including the financial burden patients might experience from high out-of-pocket costs.
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