Studies: providers and patients need to bring the gap regarding the importance of communication with health care costs

Both patients and providers agree upon the importance of communication in health care when it comes to a patient’s ability to afford the tests and treatments a provider recommends

Health care providers and patients don’t always see things from the same point of view. But two new 2022 studies found one area where both seem to agree. It’s the importance of communication in health care and discussing health care costs, yet this conversation is severely lacking in many practices.

Patient needs regarding health care communication

The first study was conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Parkview Mirro Center for Research & Innovation in Fort Wayne, Ind. It involved 18 patients, each of whom was asked about their conversations with their health care providers about the cost of tests and medication-based treatments. The patients were also asked about the importance of communication in health care, cost barriers, and how technology could assist with making health care decisions that are cost sensitive.

Some patients indicated that their providers had connected them with resources to help alleviate health care costs. When this occurred, patients expressed feeling that their provider took good care of them, referring to them as a compassionate and helpful provider — especially when they took the time to hear the patient’s concerns regarding costs.

Other subjects reported that they didn’t have conversations with their providers about health care costs. One of the barriers highlighted for this type of communication was a short appointment time. The patient either felt rushed out the door or felt that the provider was in and out of the room so quickly that there was no time to bring up cost concerns.

The importance of communication in health care when patients seek other providers

Researchers noted that when these conversations didn’t happen and the issue of cost wasn’t addressed, it sometimes left the patient chasing after a more affordable option, with some feeling embarrassed about their situation. If the cost was deemed unaffordable, in some cases, the tests or medications were refused altogether. This resulted in negative emotional impacts, along with increasing the risk of a lower quality of life.

A majority of this study’s subjects felt that their health care provider should communicate clearly about testing and treatment costs, in addition to sharing more affordable options. This required developing a better understanding of a patient’s ability to pay, then working together to find a solution within the patient’s budget.

Overcoming too-high treatment costs also required resolving transportation issues, such as getting the patient to a nearby pharmacy or helping them find a ride to their medical test. Patients added that they were open to the use of technology for finding more cost-effective options, as long as the technology did not distract the health care provider.

Results of this study were published on Feb. 19, 2022, in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA).

Health care conversations from a provider’s point of view

The second study was also published in JAMIA, just five days later, and was conducted by researchers from the same two organizations, along with a scientist from the University of San Francisco, California. Instead of interviewing patients, this research involved interviews with 38 health care providers. Included in this category were physicians and nurses, social workers, pharmacists, and administrators.

These interviews revealed the importance of communication in health care from the provider’s view in that that providers lacked information about their patients’ abilities to cover the costs of their medications through a lack of communication. They also tended to not have a complete realization of what medicines cost or a realization of how costs changed if the patient switched insurances. Providers that did have access to cost-related tools sometimes cited these tools as lacking clarity, with many questioning the quality of the information provided.

The types of tools that providers felt could be more beneficial include:

• those that could be referenced quickly
• those that would directly compare medication costs
• those capable of streamlining the referral process
• those that summarized the patient’s cost-related barriers

Where to go from here: open communication with patients

Both patients and providers agree upon the importance of communication in health care  and that more communication is needed when it comes to a patient’s ability to afford the tests and treatments a provider recommends. From the patient’s perspective, they admit that they have a responsibility to bring up any cost concerns. But they also stressed the importance of the provider asking if cost is an issue that creates a barrier to the proposed health care plan.

Asking patients about cost concerns after recommending a test or treatment protocol can bring these issues to light. It also opens the opportunity to discuss more affordable options, if needed, enabling the patient to receive a higher level of care without breaking the bank or deeming that care doesn’t fit into their current budget and letting their health slide as a result.

Finding and utilizing certain digital tools can help add clarity to these conversations. This might involve looking at a drug cost comparison website to learn what different pharmacies charge for a specific medication. It also includes staying up to date on the resources available to patients with affordability concerns, and keeping open lines pf communications.