Rag. Winkens et al., ROUTINE INDIVIDUAL FEEDBACK ON REQUESTS FOR DIAGNOSTIC-TESTS - AN ECONOMIC-EVALUATION, Medical decision making, 16(4), 1996, pp. 309-314
The authors assessed the economic consequences of routine individual f
eedback on test requests provided to 85 family physicians in a region
with 187,000 inhabitants. In a retrospective study as part of a quasi-
experiment, cost trends in a region where feedback was provided over a
seven-year period were compared with cost trends elsewhere in The Net
herlands without feedback. Data on variable costs were obtained for 40
0 individual tests that accounted for 90% of all requests. Differences
in request trends thus were transformed to savings in costs of diagno
stic testing, taking account of the extra costs of providing the feedb
ack. Expenditures for diagnostic testing declined after the start of t
he feedback, despite the costs of providing the feedback. The savings
increased as the feedback continued. Compared with the trend elsewhere
without feedback, over seven years a total net sum of 1.4 million U.S
. dollars was saved. Routine individual feedback is therefore economic
ally worthwhile.