Harvard Medical School, 180 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115. E-mail:
Am J Manag Care. 2017 Jun 1;23(6):e186-e192.
Driven by the growth of high deductibles and price transparency initiatives, patients are being encouraged to search for prices before seeking care, yet few do so. To understand why this is the case, we interviewed individuals who were offered access to a widely used price transparency website through their employer.
Qualitative interviews.
We interviewed individuals enrolled in a preferred provider organization product through their health plan about their experience using the price transparency tool (if they had done so), their past medical experiences, and their opinions on shopping for care. All interviews were transcribed and manually coded using a thematic coding guide.
In general, respondents expressed frustration with healthcare costs and had a positive opinion of the idea of price shopping in theory, but 2 sets of barriers limited their ability to do so in reality. The first was the salience of searching for price information. For example, respondents recognized that due to their health plan benefits design, they would not save money by switching to a lower-cost provider. Second, other factors were more important than price for respondents when choosing a provider, including quality and loyalty to current providers.
We found a disconnect between respondents' enthusiasm for price shopping and their reported use of a price transparency tool to shop for care. However, many did find the tool useful for other purposes, including checking their claims history. Addressing the barriers to price shopping identified by respondents can help inform ongoing and future price transparency initiatives.
由于高自付额和价格透明度倡议的增长，鼓励患者在寻求护理前先查询价格，但很少有人这样做。为了了解为什么会这样，我们采访了一些通过雇主获得广泛使用的价格透明度网站访问权限的个人。
定性访谈。
我们采访了通过健康计划参加优选提供者组织产品的个人，了解他们使用价格透明度工具（如果使用过）的经验、他们过去的医疗经历以及他们对医疗护理购物的看法。所有访谈均进行了转录，并使用主题编码指南进行手动编码。
总体而言，受访者对医疗保健费用感到不满，对价格购物的想法在理论上持积极态度，但有 2 组障碍限制了他们在现实中这样做的能力。第一个是搜索价格信息的突出性。例如，受访者认识到，由于他们的健康计划福利设计，他们不会通过转向低成本提供者来节省资金。其次，对于受访者来说，在选择提供者时，其他因素比价格更重要，包括质量和对当前提供者的忠诚度。
我们发现，受访者对价格购物的热情与其报告的使用价格透明度工具进行护理购物之间存在脱节。然而，许多人确实发现该工具在其他方面很有用，包括检查他们的索赔历史。解决受访者确定的价格购物障碍可以帮助为正在进行和未来的价格透明度倡议提供信息。
