ASCs saw increased business, revenue and patient satisfaction one year after posting prices for surgical procedures online, according to a study published in The American Surgeon.
Between April and May 2016, Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University researchers studied six ASCs with prices for common operations listed on their websites. The U.S.-based centers were selected from a Free Market Medical Association database.
Here are seven findings, as reported in EurekAlert!:
1. Five of the six centers reported a 50 percent midrange or median patient volume increase one year after publicly posting prices.
2. Four centers saw a 30 percent midrange increase in revenue in the same period.
3. Three facilities reported an increase of seven new third-party administrator contracts, on average. Three experienced a decrease in administrative burden.
4. Five centers observed improved patient satisfaction and patient engagement.
5. All six respondents would recommend price transparency as a marketing strategy to other providers.
6. The top barrier to price transparency was discouragement from hospitals, other providers or insurance companies, respondents said.
7. The study doesn't prove the increased business outcomes and patient satisfaction are directly caused by price transparency policies. However, four of the centers said they do believe price transparency was behind the increases in annual revenue and demand for services.