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Online Medical Information Is Right Prescription for Lower Health Care Costs
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| Kathy Davidson |
Kathy Davidson, Vice President and General Manager, MD Consult, Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA, USA
In a time of spiraling medical costs, a recent study has shown how online medical reference resources can not only improve patient care but also save money. According to the 2005 study, one Dallas hospital was projected to save over a million dollars a year thanks to the use of MD Consult. The study was conducted by Case Study Forum, a firm specializing in return-on-investment studies, and involved interviews with physicians and medical librarians in the US.
The financial benefits come in large part from an increase in physician productivity, with a reported saving of 2.3 hours per week on average due to the use of MD Consult, which gives e-access to more than 50 medical reference books, 70 medical journals and clinics, MEDLINE, drug information, and clinical practice guidelines. The findings go a long way toward shattering the myth that paid-for online material is a necessary evil that eats up the budget.
With access to MD Consult, physicians at Medical City Dallas Hospital were able to diagnose patients 30 percent more quickly, leading to significant increases in the number of patients seen and revenues collected. The annual benefit of using MD Consult per physician at the hospital was calculated to be $2,266. Doctors surveyed nationwide reported they were able to answer questions more quickly in nearly two thirds of their cases by using the Web-based medical reference system.
As Dr. David Pierce of Beaverton, Oregon said of MD Consult, “It's hard to practice medicine now without it. In the old days you had to rummage through multiple books, and call a consultant to get the latest information.”
Medical librarian Miriam Muallem of Medical City Dallas Hospital explained what led her institution to MD Consult. “Because of budget limitations, we were not able to have as up-to-date and comprehensive a book and reference collection as we would like. But we still wanted to find ways to help our physicians practice evidence-based medicine.”
After subscription to the online service, surveyed librarians as well as physicians nationwide reported an increase in productivity, and the cost of interlibrary loans at subscribed institutes fell by as much as 50 percent.
Miriam has an anecdote of a more important saving she was able to realize from her computer at the Medical City Dallas Hospital Library. One day a patient in an operating room was suffering complications because of a little-known drug interaction. The surgery team put in a quick call to the librarian and within minutes Miriam had found the needed information on MD Consult and faxed it to the operating room. Using this information the anesthesiologist was able to solve the medical emergency.
Indeed, the Case Study Forum report detailing results of the study states doctors estimate they give patients better care 29 percent of the time thanks to this tool. “MD Consult gives me the opportunity to find the most current literature and studies, and the most current textbooks,” noted Dr. Matti Palo, an orthopedic surgeon in Covington, Louisiana. “It offers me a basis for treatment, and a way to make sure that I’m staying current with medical practices.”
The report also highlights the educational benefits of MD Consult. According to Associate Professor of Internal Medicine Dr. Brett Moran, quoted on page 2 in the report, "I find it a comprehensive and easy-to-use resource that helps my medical acumen."
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