Choosing a Hospital
A study published in the current issue of Archives of Surgery notes that physicians generally decide, or at least influence, where patients opt to have surgical procedures performed.
31 percent of patients report a physician determined the facility and 42 percent indicated that the decision was reached by the provider and patient together, according to the telephone survey completed with over five hundred patients. Patients with worse health status were more likely to rely on their physician to guide the choice of where to undergo surgery.
These findings have implications in the current race to offer patients outcomes data to support choosing healthcare providers and facilities.
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