Can Technology Help Us Shop For Cheaper Healthcare?

Medical cost transparency is the holy grail for keeping our system in balance.  Any high school econ class will teach you that a market functions best with data, so it’s easy to understand why healthcare has continued to be inefficient – it keeps its customers in the dark about prices.  There are products today that force consumers to think more about costs and potentially shop around (i.e., individual health accounts like HRAs and FSAs), but without knowing how much they’re going to spend for treatments, people still can’t make the best decisions.

In light of this, I applaud the Castlight Health and their new app that gives consumers healthcare pricing and quality info on their phone.  By collecting claims data, negotiated rates, and quality metrics, the app and accompanying website show information about doctors in the area and expected costs for services.  The article highlights how the app is especially good for travelers, which help them make on-the-go decisions.

While I love the service, I struggle with the bigger question of how to change mindsets and encourage people to take price into consideration when working with a doctor.  This is especially challenging for patients who have seen the same physician for a long time.  Not only will they be reluctant to talk about prices, but they will also resist building a relationship with a new doctor who, at a lower cost, might be viewed as lower quality (even if data says different).

However, if we’re to rein in costs, patients shouldn’t blindly stick with one physician, or accept their prices, if there are others nearby that provide good quality at a lower cost.  Like any negotiation, the patient needs to be willing to walk away, but this can be a hard mindset to take when this is new territory for patients.

Maybe this will be solved as this generation, which is more comfortable with shopping around for price and understands the healthcare crisis, makes up the bulk of the patients.  I’d also be interested in seeing what Castlight is doing (e.g., member education and communications) to encourage customers to seek lower cost physicians.  Regardless, they have fired the first shot against healthcare price opacity, and I’m excited to see how this plays out.