Hospitals have room for improvement when it comes to providing prices for patients, according to The Washington Post's coverage of research published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers posing as uninsured patients called 20 Philadelphia-area hospitals and asked two questions: the price of parking and the price of an electrocardiogram.
While 19 hospitals were able to provide a parking price, only three hospitals were able to provide the price of the electrocardiogram. The study confirms another performed earlier in 2013, in which researchers called D.C.-area hospitals for hip replacement prices. In that study approximately 10 percent of hospitals were able to provide a price.
Researchers concluded while it appears hospitals are comfortable with and equipped to provide some prices over the phone, though procedure prices are rarely available. In addition, they noted the similar rates of price disclosure between the two studies indicate the complexity of the medical procedure in question does not affect price transparency.
More Articles on Price Transparency:
New York Times Article Puts Hospital Prices Back in the Spotlight
10 Characteristics of Effective Healthcare Price Transparency Tools
Unveiling the Cost of Care: How Transparency Changes the Patient Perspective