More than half of primary care doctors make unnecessary referrals to specialists in response to patient requests, according to a study published in the American Journal of Managed Care.
Thirty percent of U.S. healthcare expenses each year are considered unnecessary, according to lead author Sapna Kaul, PhD, of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and colleagues. Physicians are under pressure to consider the costs of a possible treatment plan to the healthcare system, but little is known about how they balance cost-saving measures with patient requests.
For the study, the researchers used data from a survey of 840 primary care physicians in family practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics. They found that 52% of physicians reported making what they considered unnecessary referrals for a specialist and 39% prescribed brand-name drugs despite generic alternatives being available (Am J Manag Care, November 13, 2015).
"Unnecessary medical practices may cause unneeded emotional and financial stress for patients and their loved ones," Kaul said in a statement released by the university. "Both physician and patient-level strategies are required to limit waste of medical resources."
