Steering Physicians, Collegially, Toward Improved Laboratory Test Ordering

April 20, 2016

What do psychology, behavior economics, and the Cheesecake Factory have to do with physicians’ laboratory test-ordering patterns?

Brian Jackson, MD, MS, takes us inside doctors’ minds in a a recent American Association for Clinical Chemistry article. Jackson, ARUP vice president and chief medical informatics officer, uses theories, including Harvard surgeon Atul Gawande’s famous proposal to run hospitals like Cheesecake Factory restaurants, to explore what “nudges” physicians toward choices that promote better test utilization without usurping their sense of autonomy.

“If we are to solve the considerable challenges of achieving accountable care, it will require creative collaboration among all players in the healthcare system… We need to be active and assertive in setting goals and holding each other accountable to those goals. But we also need to do this in ways that promote, rather than suppress, teamwork.”

Brian Jackson, MD, MS
Vice president and chief medical informatics officer
 

Helping physicians embrace more efficient care while respecting their professional judgment is a priority for ARUP’s Utilization Management (UM +) team and consultative experts. They are showing clients how to order tests more efficiently to save money without compromising high-quality patient care.

To read more: https://www.aacc.org/publications/cln/articles/2016/april/nudging-our-way-to-more-efficient-care-how-to-win-friends-among-doctors-while-influencing-them

Upcoming Presentations, Utilization Management

May 5—G2 Intelligence. Webinar: “Vital Strategies for Dramatic Lab Cost Savings.” Speaker: Casey Leavitt, Director, ARUP Consultative Services.

April 26— MedAssets Healthcare Business Summit. Presentation: “UM Critical Success Factors: Top Techniques for Increasing the Impact of a Utilization Management Program.” Speaker: Casey Leavitt, Director, ARUP Consultative Services.