“Don’t just ask the doctor which type of treatment you should get..,” “Ask the doctor, ‘What happens if I don’t get this treatment? How does this affect the outcome?’”
A recent Kaiser Health News article http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org * noted ”Older breast cancer patients who received radiation treatment after surgery were more likely to undergo a more expensive and somewhat controversial type of radiation called brachytherapy if they got their care at for-profit rather than nonprofit hospitals….”
“We wanted to see whether for-profit hospitals, which arguably have a greater incentive to provide returns to their shareholders, would be more likely to adopt a higher-reimbursement therapy than a nonprofit hospital — and that’s exactly what we found,” “This reinforces the idea that reimbursement is a significant driver of the adoption of new cancer therapies, which is a shame…Evidence should be the main driver.”
For these patients, “who may not have gotten radiation to begin with, brachytherapy is driving an overall increase in the use of radiation,”
“…… the take-home message for patients is that treatment recommendations vary from provider to provider, and they should always get a second opinion
* to read the full KHN article “Study: Costly Breast Cancer Treatment More Common At For-Profit Hospitals” by Roni Caryn Rabin highlight and click on open hyperlink http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2014/04/study-costly-breast-cancer-treatment-more-common-at-for-profit-hospitals/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A+First+Edition&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=12616893&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9dDSWKuSxk9AU6pl3-nvUy4fHARIOxGSXcM1YVXVLxEkAXcnfxRz9U4NR_wV_ibPKfkF_CyZMJZ6-a4cytw7CKGjJiPJmqjaTDGvIhInzGNwPaxeo&_hsmi=12616893
Note: This blog shares general information about understanding and navigating the health care system. For specific medical advice about your own problems, issues and options talk to your personal physician.