Portuguese Family Physicians' Awareness of Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Costs: A Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Physicians' ability to make cost-effective decisions has been shown to be affected by their knowledge of health care costs. This study assessed whether Portuguese family physicians are aware of the costs of the most frequently prescribed diagnostic and laboratory tests.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative sample of Portuguese family physicians, using computer-assisted telephone interviews for data collection. A Likert scale was used to assess physician's level of agreement with four statements about health care costs. Family physicians were also asked to estimate the costs of diagnostic and laboratory tests. Each physician's cost estimate was compared with the true cost and the absolute error was calculated.

Results

One-quarter

SUBMITTER: Sa L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4565683 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature