Taking societal cost into clinical consideration: U.S. physicians' views.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Medical Ethics
• Physician Behavior

Background:

• Physician stewardship of healthcare resources is increasingly emphasized, exemplified by initiatives like Choosing Wisely.
• Physicians' perspectives on balancing individual patient needs with societal costs are crucial for healthcare policy.
• Understanding physician attitudes towards resource allocation informs strategies for cost-effective care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate physicians' beliefs regarding their role in managing healthcare costs.
• To determine if physicians believe they should consider societal costs or refuse costly, low-benefit interventions.
• To explore associations between physician characteristics and their views on cost-conscious care.

Main Methods:

• Secondary analysis of a 2010 national survey of 2016 U.S. physicians.
• Survey items assessed agreement with statements on considering societal costs and refusing costly interventions.
• Statistical analysis examined associations with practice and religious characteristics.

Main Results:

• 47% of physicians believed they should not consider societal costs for individual patients.
• 69% agreed physicians should refuse patient requests for costly, low-benefit interventions.
• Physicians in end-of-life care specialties were more supportive of refusing costly interventions; religiosity showed weak associations.

Conclusions:

• Physicians are divided on incorporating societal costs into individual patient care decisions.
• A strong majority of physicians support refusing costly interventions with minimal patient benefit.
• Findings highlight a nuanced physician approach to cost stewardship in healthcare.