GAINSHARING REDUCES HOSPITAL DEVICE COSTS, SAYS REPORT
The use of gainsharing agreements in the cardiovascular device market has resulted in lower costs to hospitals, according to a recent report.
Market Strategies' Oct. 4 report, "A Market Assessment of the Attitudes, Perceptions and Intentions of Cardiovascular Physicians and Hospitals Regarding Gainsharing Arrangements," determined that gainsharing reduces the cost of heart devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators without compromising care. Gainsharing is an arrangement whereby a hospital gives physicians a share of any reduction in the hospital's costs for patient care, attributable in part to the efforts of the physician.
According to Market Strategies' Mark Prodger, the report "is the first in-depth look at how hospital administrators and physicians are, under the new guidelines, leveraging gainsharing to address rising costs while at the same time maintain a high standard of cardiovascular patient care. According to some hospital administrators, the impact on cardiovascular medical device companies is just starting to be felt."