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Published on: September 21, 2015
Physician-generated cost containment in transurethral prostatectomy
W M Sage1, R Kessler, L S Sommers
1Division of Diagnostic Radiology (Radiology), Stanford University School of Medicine, California.
The Journal of Urology
|August 1, 1988
Summary
Physicians can voluntarily reduce healthcare costs for procedures like transurethral prostatectomy without impacting care quality. Sharing practice variations and promoting cost-aware decision-making led to significant savings in hospital stays and charges.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Health Economics
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Healthcare costs are a significant concern, often addressed through external mandates.
- Physician-led cost containment initiatives can be effective without compromising patient care quality.
- Transurethral prostatectomy is a common procedure with potential for cost optimization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of voluntary, physician-driven cost containment strategies on hospital resource utilization and charges for transurethral prostatectomy.
- To evaluate whether sharing practice variations and discussing optimal scientific practices can lead to reduced healthcare costs.
- To determine if such initiatives can be implemented without sacrificing the quality of care.
Main Methods:
- A 16-month intervention involving 5 meetings with a urology division to discuss practice variations and cost-effective strategies.
- Encouraging surgeons to individually apply cost-related knowledge without strict guidelines.
- Measuring resource use, including preoperative and postoperative length of stay, ordering practices, and total hospital charges, before, during, and after the intervention for 356 transurethral prostatectomies.
Main Results:
- Significant decreases were observed in preoperative and postoperative length of stay.
- Reductions in specific ordering practices and overall total hospital charges were noted.
- Variations in practice and resource use were identified between university faculty and community urologists, as well as among individual surgeons.
Conclusions:
- Voluntary, physician-led cost management initiatives can successfully reduce hospital costs for procedures like transurethral prostatectomy.
- Sharing knowledge and encouraging individual application of cost-saving principles are effective strategies.
- Further exploration of scientific cost management in prostatectomy is warranted, considering practice variations.
