The Effect of Price Information on the Ordering of Images and Procedures

Randomized Experiments to Reduce Overuse of Health Care: A Scoping Review

OBJECTIVE

Health care overuse is pervasive in countries with advanced health care delivery systems. We hypothesize that effective interventions to reduce low-value care that targets patients or clinicians are mediated by psychological and cognitive processes that change behaviors and that interventions targeting these processes are varied. Thus, we performed a scoping review of experimental studies of interventions, including the interventions' objectives and characteristics, to reduce low-value care that targeted psychological and cognitive processes.

METHODS

We systematically searched databases for experimental studies of interventions to change cognitive orientations and affective states in the setting of health care overuse. Outcomes included observed overuse or a stated intention to use services. We used existing frameworks for behavior change and mechanisms of change to categorize the interventions and the mediating processes.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Sixteen studied the provision of information to patients or clinicians, with most providing cost information. Six studies used educational interventions, including the provision of feedback about individual practice. Studies rarely used counseling, behavioral nudges, persuasion, and rewards. Mechanisms for behavior change included gain in knowledge or confidence and motivation by social norms.

CONCLUSIONS

In this scoping review, we found few experiments testing interventions that directly target the psychological and cognitive processes of patients or clinicians to reduce low-value care. Most studies provided information to patients or clinicians without measuring or considering mediating factors toward behavior change. These findings highlight the need for process-driven experimental designs, including trials of behavioral nudges and persuasive language involving a trusting patient-clinician relationship, to identify effective interventions to reduce low-value care.

The effect of medication cost transparency alerts on prescriber behavior

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine if medication cost transparency alerts provided at time of prescribing led ambulatory prescribers to reduce their use of low-value medications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Provider-level alerts were deployed to ambulatory practices of a single health system from February 2018 through April 2018. Practice sites included 58 primary care and 152 specialty care clinics totaling 1896 attending physicians, residents, and advanced practice nurses throughout western Washington. Prescribers in the randomly assigned intervention arm received a computerized alert whenever they ordered a medication among 4 high-cost medication classes. For each class, a lower cost, equally effective, and safe alternative was available. The primary outcome was the change in prescribing volume for each of the 4 selected medication classes during the 12-week intervention period relative to a prior 24-week baseline.

RESULTS

A total of 15 456 prescriptions for high-cost medications were written during the baseline period including 7223 in the intervention arm and 8233 in the control arm. During the intervention period, a decrease in daily prescribing volume was noted for all high-cost medications including 33% for clobetasol propionate (p < .0001), 59% for doxycycline hyclate (p < .0001), 43% for fluoxetine tablets (p < .0001), and a non-significant 3% decrease for high-cost triptans (p = .65). Prescribing volume for the high-cost medications overall decreased by 32% (p < .0001).

CONCLUSION

Medication cost transparency alerts in an ambulatory setting lead to more cost-conscious prescribing. Future work is needed to predict which alerts will be most effective.

Effectiveness of provider price display in computerized physician order entry (CPOE) on healthcare quality: a systematic review

Objective

To study the association between Electronic Health Record (EHR)/Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) provider price display, and domains of healthcare quality (efficiency, effective care, patient centered care, patient safety, equitable care, and timeliness of care).

Methods

Randomized and non-randomized studies assessing the relationship between healthcare quality domains and EHR/CPOE provider price display published between 1/1/1980 to 2/1/2018 were included. MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase were searched. Assessment of internal validity of the included studies was performed with a modified Downs-Black checklist.

Results

Screening of 1118 abstracts was performed resulting in selection of 41 manuscripts for full length review. A total of 13 studies were included in the final analysis. Thirteen studies reported on efficiency domain, one on effectiveness and one on patient safety. Studies assessing relationship between provider price display and patient centered, equitable and timely care domains were not retrieved. Quality of the studies varied widely (Range 6-12 out of a maximum possible score of 13). Provider price display in electronic health record environment did not consistently influence domains of healthcare quality such as efficiency, effectiveness and patient safety.

Conclusions

Published evidence suggests that price display tools aimed at ordering providers in EHR/CPOE do not influence the efficiency domain of healthcare quality. Scant published evidence suggests that they do not influence the effectiveness and patient safety domains of healthcare quality. Future studies are needed to assess the relationship between provider price display and unexplored domains of healthcare quality (patient centered, equitable, and timely care).

Registration

PROSPERO registration: CRD42018082227.

The Impact of an Electronic Expensive Test Notification

OBJECTIVES

The impact of clinical decision support tools (CDSTs) that display test cost information has been variable.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the 3-year impact of a passive CDST that notified providers when the test order cost was $1,000 or more. We determined the most common expensive tests ordered, the frequency with which providers abandoned the order after notification, and the costs saved through this intervention.

RESULTS

The average monthly abandonment rate was 12.5% (2014), 12.9% (2015), and 14.3% (2016). The cost savings from tests not performed for this 3-year period was $696,007. Molecular hematopathology assays were the most frequently ordered tests, with variable abandonment rates.

CONCLUSIONS

Although this CDST was passive (ie, could be overridden at the point of order entry) and was associated with a relatively low abandonment rate, it achieved a considerable cost savings each year since each abandoned test saved the institution $1,000 or more.

Reducing Unnecessary Imaging and Pathology Tests: A Systematic Review

CONTEXT

Unnecessary imaging and pathology procedures represent low-value care and can harm children and the health care system.

OBJECTIVE

To perform a systematic review of interventions designed to reduce unnecessary pediatric imaging and pathology testing.

DATA SOURCES

We searched Medline, Embase, Cinahl, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and gray literature.

STUDY SELECTION

Studies we included were: reports of interventions to reduce unnecessary imaging and pathology testing in pediatric populations; from developed countries; written in the English language; and published between January 1, 1996, and April 29, 2017.

DATA EXTRACTION

Two researchers independently extracted data and assessed study quality using a Cochrane group risk of bias tool. Level of evidence was graded using the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine grading system.

RESULTS

We found 64 articles including 44 before-after, 14 interrupted time series, and 1 randomized controlled trial. More effective interventions were (1) multifaceted, with 3 components (mean relative reduction = 45.0%; SD = 28.3%) as opposed to 2 components (32.0% [30.3%]); or 1 component (28.6%, [34.9%]); (2) targeted toward families and clinicians compared with clinicians only (61.9% [34.3%] vs 30.0% [32.0%], respectively); and (3) targeted toward imaging (41.8% [38.4%]) or pathology testing only (48.8% [20.9%]), compared with both simultaneously (21.6% [29.2%]).

LIMITATIONS

The studies we included were limited to the English language.

CONCLUSIONS

Promising interventions include audit and feedback, system-based changes, and education. Future researchers should move beyond before-after designs to rigorously evaluate interventions. A relatively novel approach will be to include both clinicians and the families they manage in such interventions.