POLLS SHOW SPLIT OVER GAINSHARING'S BENEFITS
Two recent studies show a split over whether reducing medical costs through gainsharing outweighs potential limits in access to technology and possible compromised care.
While an industry-funded study showed that doctors are opposed to gainsharing because the approach may limit patient access to medical technology, another poll shows that gainsharing reduces costs without compromising care. Gainsharing involves hospitals providing incentives to doctors for reducing costs for patient care.
A Harris Interactive poll, funded by AdvaMed, showed that 53 percent of doctors strongly agree that hospitals should not use gainsharing. The recent poll surveyed 324 doctors nationwide, and was released in preparation for a congressional hearing on gainsharing.
"These measures have strong opposition from doctors," said AdvaMed's president, Stephen Ubl. "Physicians are clearly concerned about losing their choice of treatment options."
However, another poll determined that gainsharing would reduce costs without compromising patient care. A report by Market Strategies, "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.