Out-Pocket-Costs. Everybody is thinking about them, but we are not talking about them. Why? According to NYACP’s June 2018 survey, the main barrier to cost conversations between patients and physicians is not knowing where to find cost information. In response, your Chapter has tools and resources to help you with more effective conversations about the cost of care.
It’s important to remember that these conversations are not defined by providing out-of-pocket cost for a service. Although that information is ideal, it’s not always feasible. What you can do is provide guidance, information and tools to help your patients estimate costs, prevent surprise bills and choose the best treatment for them. Simply letting patients know that you welcome the conversation is a great start!
When patients feel comfortable asking their physician about cost and quality, we learned that the 3 most frequent questions are related to medication costs, cost of services and where to go for treatment. Follow this link for tools that can be shared with your patients to assist them in getting answers to questions they may have. They can be shared with staff members who can help with cost conversations, such as nurses who assist with medication reconciliation and prior authorization personnel who assist with referral planning.