JAMA · 1984 · 155 citations · 0 references
Health ProfessionsHealth AdministrationMedical EducationHealthcare AdministrationHealthcare EconomicsHospital AdministrationDirect Medical CostsHealth Care CostsHealthcare Cost AnalysisHospital EconomicsHospital Resource UtilizationCost Containment EvaluationCost Control In HealthcareFeedback InterventionsHealthcare Cost ManagementHospital Cost ControlHospitalization CostsMedical Cost AnalysisResident Physician Education
To test whether physician education reduces total hospital costs, the study evaluated three educational interventions at a large university hospital. The prospective controlled study covered two academic years, enrolling 1,663 patients and 226 house staff, and compared weekly cost‑containment lectures, audit‑feedback, and a combined intervention. Neither the lecture or audit interventions, nor their combination, significantly altered total hospital charges, and the modest reductions in selected services were insufficient to affect overall costs, leading the authors to conclude that physician education alone is ineffective for cost containment. JAMA 1984;252:225-230.
To test the hypothesis that physician education is an effective strategy to reduce total hospital costs, we evaluated three educational interventions at a large university hospital. This prospective controlled study spanned two academic years and involved 1,663 patients and 226 house staff. In the first year, weekly lectures on cost containment (medicine and surgery) and audit with feedback (medicine only) both failed to produce a significant change in total hospital charges. The "dose" of the intervention was increased on medicine in the second year by combining the lecture and audit strategies. Again, total charges did not change significantly. While decreased use occurred for certain selected services, the impact was not great enough to affect total hospital charges significantly. We conclude that, in the absence of other cost containing incentives, physician education alone is not an effective hospital cost containment strategy. (<i>JAMA</i>1984;252:225-230)