What Are the Drivers of Higher Healthcare Costs?

Despite general consensus on the need to lower healthcare costs in the U.S., little is known about drivers of overuse. Given that a large percentage of overuse occurs in the inpatient setting, researchers surveyed hospitalists about their practice patterns in two common clinical scenarios: preoperative evaluation and syncope.

More than 1000 U.S. hospitalists were randomly administered two clinical vignettes, each of which included four different presentation versions. Versions within each vignette contained the same clinical information but varied in whether the occupation of a family member was known (physician or attorney) and whether this family member requested additional testing. Survey participants were asked what most hospitalists in …