Columnist Urges Open Dialogue on Health Care Costs
In a Contra Costa Times opinion piece, columnist and Bay Area physician Kate Scannell argues that physicians and patients should "learn to speak explicitly about health care costs so that we can obtain better value for our money" and "make better health care decisions in the clinic" and "better choices in the voting booth." She writes that "several public initiatives are launching to encourage and enable us" to discuss ways to reduce health care costs, including a campaign by the American Board of Internal Medicine that "focuses on reducing overuse of specific medical tests or procedures."
- "Dr. Kate Scannell: Nation Needs To Talk Wisely and Calmly About Health Care Costs" (Scannell, Contra Costa Times, 9/15).