Medical Staff

MDs often choose where patients will have surgery

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, May 9, 2007

A national survey of 500 Medicare patients found that in nearly a third of cases, physicians were the sole decision-makers in choosing the hospital in which the patients underwent major non-emergency surgery, The Washington Post reported March 27. Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, NH, conducted the study, which appears in the March issue of the Archives of Surgery.

Thirty-one percent of patients said the physician chose the hospital, 27% said that they or their families made the decision, and 42% said they decided along with their physician.

The researchers interviewed patients via phone for the survey, finding that men and those in fair to poor health were more likely to let the physician alone decide, the article reports. Further, 289 patients said they had sought information about the available hospitals from sources other than their physician, according to the article.

To access the full article, go to www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301602.html

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