In a study published in the Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, researchers found that 67 percent of orthopedic surgeons underestimate the cot of implants while 33 percent overestimate the cost.
The study included responses from 36 residents and 15 attending surgeons at two large academic medical centers. The estimated costs of implants were compared against actual costs. The attending surgeons had a mean percentage error of 59 percent.
A second study focusing on the increasing cost of providing healthcare measured steps taken at two facilities to implement surgeon-led programs that would decrease technology costs. The programs developed a physician peer review process for new product acquisition and saw a reduction in spending on surgical implants. However, new product requests by physicians were still approved in more than 90 percent of the instances.
The use of different negotiation strategies also decreased the implant costs between 3 percent and 38 percent, according to the report.
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