Healthcare Shopper News
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Men's Health
Picking a High-Volume Surgeon Pays Off
Women who choose their own surgeon and hospital get better breast cancer care than those who rely on doctor or health plan referrals. That's because women who said they chose their own surgeon were twice as likely to see a highly experienced surgeon as were those referred by another doctor or by their health plan. The provider-based referral pathway was not associated with surgeon volume. Steven Katz, MD, director of health services research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer... read more
Posted by Phil Daigle on January 19, 2007 9:48 PM
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Profit and Prostate
A radiation therapy known as I.M.R.T for prostate cancer may be emerging as yet another example of the way financial incentives can influence medical decisions. Among several widely used treatments for prostate cancer, I.M.R.T. stands out for the money it makes the doctors who recommend it - $47,000 or more a patient. That is many times the fees that urologists make on other accepted treatments for the disease, which include surgery and radioactive seed implants. And it may help explain... read more
Posted by Phil Daigle on December 4, 2006 12:55 PM
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