Patients’ unmet expectations

A new nationwide survey has found two significant gaps between patients’ expectations and their experiences. People reported that they are told about their medical options far less often than they want, and that their medical care appears to be poorly coordinated. The survey, conducted for the Institute of Medicine, was described in an opinion piece published in the Journal…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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A look at the Health Ratings Center

At the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center, we’re getting a lot of attention right now for our work on the Choosing Wisely campaign. But we’re equally proud of our other ground-breaking projects aimed at helping consumers understand and compare their healthcare options. The Health Ratings Center was established in 2008, with the aggressive mission of rating doctors, hospitals and…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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How to turn info into action?

The Choosing Wisely campaign is “an important first step,” but just identifying low-value procedures is not enough to change doctors’ and patients’ behavior, according to a commentary on the campaign, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors, three medical economists, suggest that a next step might be to adjust insurance terms to favor…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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Demanding to see the pricetag

Imagine shopping at a store where neither you nor the clerk could see the pricetags. Imagine trying to make smart shopping decisions if you first see the bills a month later. It’s impossible. And yet, that’s what healthcare consumers face every day. Hidden medical prices increasing matter, because patients are assuming an ever-greater share of their…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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Making a difference

We’re pleased to share the news that Choosing Wisely, the campaign that Consumer Reports has been working on in partnership with the ABIM Foundation, leading medical specialty societies, and consumer organizations, was featured in Medscape’s The Year In Medicine 2012: News That Made a Difference, announced on December 4. Such recognition of the Choosing Wisely campaign comes at the end of a year…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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Rating doctors, one state at a time

In a special edition of the magazine, Consumer Reports is publishing Ratings of 19 Wisconsin medical groups that, combined, serve nearly half the state’s patients. The Ratings are the result of a unique collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) with whom the medical groups have voluntarily shared…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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Young doctors teach themselves to choose wisely

Patients who find time to ask their doctors about the cost of a proposed test or treatment are often wasting their time. Medical education traditionally avoids the subject, and medical billing is probably just as puzzling to physicians as it is to patients. Doctors in training at the University of California, San Francisco, saying it’s “increasingly…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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Taking steps against overdiagnosis

Consumer Reports is a partner in the Preventing Overdiagnosis Conference, set for Sept. 10-12, 2013, at Dartmouth College. The U.S. spends more than $200 billion on unnecessary medical care each year, according to recent estimates published in the BMJ. Ever-more sensitive screening tests, combined with the broadening of disease definitions leads to patients experiencing increasing amount of medic,al treatments and…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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Could that hospital trip have been avoided?

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has organized a month-long effort to focus attention on the national problem of people returning to the hospital soon after they are discharged. Care About Your Care aims to shine a spotlight on how hospitals and communities are working to limit avoidable return trips to the hospital. As its contribution to the…

ByChristine AustinJune 26, 20130Comments

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