Cost Data is Paramount

Findings from a Deloitte 2018 survey of US physicians found that they are willing to manage costs, but lack the data and tools to do so. The report found that 66 percent receive information on their quality performance, and 67 percent receive data on their productivity. On the flip side, many physicians are flying blind when it comes to costs associated with care. Only 28 percent receive cost information, such as cost or resource use for their attributed patients, for physicians and facilities to which they refer, or estimated patient out-of-pocket costs. When asked what types of information would be valuable at the point of care, survey respondents ranked cost (63 percent) and outcome (56 percent) data for treatment and medication options as their top priorities. In total, 72 percent of physicians consider some cost-related information valuable at the point of care. On an FFS model, healthcare provider systems are not equipped to receive, analyze and distill cost information as they have an incorrect view of the cost of services across departments with most data in silos.