Residents find savings in strategic lab testing
Residency Program Insider, October 25, 2013
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Neurosurgery residents at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center (UCSF) saved about $2 million by cutting down on some lab tests, HealthLeaders Media reports.
As part of a UCSF initiative to identify cost savings and encourage quality improvement, a group of 18 residents identified five common lab tests that were routinely ordered and frequently returned with normal results. The residents developed more stringent criteria for those tests, reducing orders for them by 47%. Ordering the tests less frequently didn’t appear to affect patient safety, according to HealthLeaders.
The residents, who published their findings in a recent issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery, saved payors almost $2 million and their own institution $75,000 in direct costs. However, the residents didn’t win a $400 prize awarded by UCSF.
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