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Feedback of laboratory usage and cost data to clinicians: does it alter requesting behaviour?
R Gama1, P G Nightingale, P M Broughton
1Department of Clinical Chemistry, Wolfson Research Laboratories, Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham, UK.
Annals of Clinical Biochemistry
|March 1, 1991
Summary
Providing physicians with laboratory data feedback significantly reduced outpatient test requests and costs. This intervention improved physician awareness of laboratory usage and expenditure without affecting inpatient care.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Chemistry
- Health Services Research
- Medical Economics
Background:
- Physician requesting behavior significantly impacts healthcare costs.
- Monitoring laboratory utilization is crucial for resource management.
- Understanding the effect of data feedback on physician behavior is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of laboratory data feedback on physician requesting behavior in general medicine.
- To assess changes in clinical chemistry laboratory usage and associated costs.
- To determine the effectiveness of performance monitoring and peer comparison.
Main Methods:
- A 1-year prospective study involving general medicine physicians.
- Monthly feedback of laboratory usage and expenditure data provided to an intervention group.
- A control group receiving no data feedback.
- Comparison of outpatient and inpatient laboratory utilization and costs before and after intervention.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in outpatient tests (25%), requests (13%), and revenue expenditure (18%) per visit in the intervention group (P<0.01).
- Reductions were most notable in commonly requested, low-cost tests.
- No significant changes were observed in laboratory use or expenditure for inpatients.
- Physicians found the data feedback acceptable and it increased their awareness of usage and costs.
Conclusions:
- Feedback of laboratory data is an effective strategy to modify physician requesting behavior for outpatients.
- This intervention can lead to reduced laboratory workload and healthcare expenditure.
- The findings highlight the potential for data-driven insights to optimize resource utilization in clinical chemistry.