Price transparency to facilitate treatment choice

Studies of price transparency initiatives, such as one that required California hospitals to publish their charges, have not found that they significantly influence patient treatment choice or pricing of goods and services by health care providers.[7] Looking at price transparency and provider behavior, one controlled study found that providing clinicians with information about test costs in electronic medical record order-entry forms reduced the number of tests ordered compared with not providing this information.[8] It is not known whether providing price transparency would alter cancer patient or clinician choices for care.

More information is needed regarding how responsive cancer patients, their families, and/or their providers might be to offers of pricing transparency, direct or indirect financial assistance, or further reductions in out-of-pocket payment requirements.