We analyze the effect of a decision support tool designed to help physicians detect and correct medical "missteps". The data comes from a randomized trial of the technology on a population of commercial HMO patients. The key findings are that the new information technology lowers average charges by 6% relative to the control group. This reduction in resource utilization was the result of reduced in-patient charges (and associated professional charges) for the most costly patients. The rate at which identified issues were resolved was generally higher in the study group than in the control group, suggesting the possibility of improvements in care quality along measured dimensions and enhanced diffusion of new protocols based on new clinical evidence.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
13493.
Length: Date of creation: Oct 2007 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13493
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Martin Gaynor & James Rebitzer & Lowell Taylor, .
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[Downloadable!]
Other versions:
Martin Gaynor & James B. Rebitzer & Lowell J. Taylor, 2001.
"Incentives in HMOs,"
NBER Working Papers
8522, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)
Jonathan Skinner & Elliott Fisher & John E. Wennberg, 2001.
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Other versions:
Jonathan S. Skinner & Elliott S. Fisher & John Wennberg, 2005.
"The Efficiency of Medicare,"
NBER Chapters,
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National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!]
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